


Origin of the Species

by Darkpurplelighter



Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men (Original Timeline Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2020-07-08 13:18:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 27
Words: 83,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19870288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkpurplelighter/pseuds/Darkpurplelighter
Summary: Ideologies are put to the test when a private laboratory supported by the government finds a cure for mutation. Now, mutants everywhere have the option of giving up their powers to become human. Rewrite of X-Men TLS featuring the cure storyline only. Now featuring more developing plots and other characters.





	1. X-Men 3: The Hope Serum

XXXXXXXXX

The city of Manhattan was in ruins. Fires light the night sky: buildings, cars, houses, nearly everything has been lit aflame. An explosion goes off and a huge fireball goes upwards towards the night sky. Iceman and Rogue suddenly charge into frame, pursued by an unseen assailant. They made their way through a path of flames that Iceman began to put out as Rogue looked up into the sky to see Storm flying over them.

"Storm!" She yelled. "Down here!"

Storm flu down to them as lasers began to go off around her.

"Stay together." Storm then looked around and quickly noticed that two people were missing. "Where's Kurt and Pitor?"

"I don't know," Rogue responded. "We got split up."

Lasers went off again and cause yet another explosion causing debris to come at the three of them.

"Watch it!" Storm yelled.

Storm used her powers to quickly spin like a tornado out of the way. Iceman formed a large ice shield and grabbed onto Rogue as debris came towards them, but bounced harmlessly off the ice. Iceman then took Rogue's hand.

"This way!"

The two ran out from behind the shield.

Elsewhere, civilians were running in between burning houses trying to get away before starting to disappear into blue puffs of smoke. Nightcrawler was teleporting them to the safety of a steel bunker. As he did, Colossus ripped the door off a car, freeing two people trapped inside. However, as he watched the two run off, he was now oblivious to a missile headed straight for him.

BAMF!

Nightcrawler teleported Colossus out of the way of the incoming missile which struck the ground, causing a large explosion. Colossus gasped when he realized what just happened.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Nightcrawler smiled.

Nightcrawler then teleported again, going after the two civilians Colossus had freed. As he did, Iceman was freezing incoming missiles headed for him and Rogue. He was able to get one, but the second was coming way to fast for him to freeze in time. Both Iceman and Rogue ran as the second missile struck the ground, causing an explosion that launched Rogue off her feet and she came crashing back down to the ground. Rogue groaned as she slowly rolled over and saw a pair of boots in front of her. She looked up to see Logan standing over her. Logan looked both concerned and angry as he reached down and gently helped her up.

"Logan?" Rogue began.

"How much time you got left?" Logan asked.

"Two minutes, tops."

"What the hell is Storm thinking?

Logan shook his head as he casually walked over to where Storm was crouched, watching a approaching searchlight. Storm then realized that Logan was there and seemed surprised to see him.

"What are you doing here?" Storm demanded.

Logan lit his cigar with a piece of burning debris.

"Enjoying the scenery. You?"

Iceman and Rogue trailed Logan while Nightcrawler and Colossus run to where Storm was and they all meet up.

"Kurt, did you get everyone to safety?" Storm asked.

"Yes," Nightcrawler answered.

"Alright, everyone in position."

Before they can form up, a mortar explodes mere feet away. Everyone took cover for a moment before Storm addressed them all.

"We stay in formation, no matter what. Let's go!"

They run out into the open and a massive Robot towered over them.

"Well this shouldn't take long," Logan said to himself while looking up at the robot. He then threw his cigar away and looked at Colossus. "Hey tin-man, how good's your throwing arm?

"It's decent," Colossus responded.

"Logan, we work as a team!" Storm yelled, now angry about his interference but Logan ignored her.

"Throw me," Logan ordered. "Now!"

Colossus grabbed Logan, spinning himself around once before throwing him as hard as he could up to the robot.

SNIKT!

The rest of the team could hear the sound of metal and wires being torn apart before the robot's head plops to the ground, Logan riding it the whole way. When it comes to a stop, Logan leaps off and dusted his shoulders off.

"Class dismissed."

The X-Men regroup and Manhattan fades away, becoming…

The Danger Room.

…a massive hologram chamber.

"Simulation complete," said a computer voice.

Storm then addressed the team.

"Alright everyone, much better this time around. But we still have some work to do. Your next session will be tomorrow, same time."

Nightcrawler, Iceman, Rogue, and Colossus all turned to exit the room. Logan goes to leave as well but Storm rounded on him.

"What the hell was that?"

"Danger Room session." He sarcastically replied.

"You know what I mean. I'm trying to teach these kids something here!"

"I think I taught 'em something."

"It was a defensive exercise."

"Well, you know what they say—"

"No, I don't know what they say, Logan. This is a school, you can't just come and go as you please."

Logan then gave Storm a look.

"Hey, Ororo—I'm jus the sub. You gotta problem, talk to Scott."

He then walked around her and left the Danger Room. He took the elevator up to the third floor, where his bedroom was and just as he did, a door opened and Scott left his room with two bags in his hands.

"Well speak of the devil," Logan said to himself once he saw the other man. He then began to follow him down the hall. "Hey, Scott!"

Scott ignored him but Logan continued to go after him. 

"What happened to you? There was a Danger Room session for the kids, you didn't show."

Scott turned to him.

"What's it to you?" He asked.

"For starters, I had to cover your ass."

"Well it's about time you did something around here. I didn't ask you to help," Scott responded.

"No, you didn't—the Professor did. I was just passing through, and lucky for you I was."

"So pass through, Logan. It's what you do best."

Scott turned to begin walking again but Logan grabbed his arm.

"Hey!"

The other man turned to face him again.

"Look." Logan began slowly. "I know how you feel."

"Don't."

"When Jean died-"

Scott pulled his arm out of Logan's grip.

"I said don't," he growled.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. Finally, Logan said;

"Maybe it's time to move on."

Scott scoffed and then turned to leave again. Midway down the hall, he called over his shoulder;

"Not everyone heals as fast as you, Logan."

Meanwhile, downstairs in one of the classrooms sat Professor Charles Xavier in front of his class of twelve students, Kitty Pryde and Jubilation Lee among them as he taught the subject of ethics to them all.

"Orwell wrote that power corrupts, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. This is a lesson that everyone of us must learn and live. Why?"

Several hands then go up. Xavier decided to call on Jubilee.

"Jubilee, how about you?"

"Because we're mutants," the Asian-American beauty responded.

"I'm surprised, Jubilee. I'd thought you'd see the flaw in Orwell's generalization."

Jubilee's brows furrowed.

"How'd you mean?"

"Well, unfortunately students, there are no absolutes when it comes to the issue of ethics," Xavier answered. "For psychics like myself, it presents a particular dilemma. Our power is, by its very nature, an invasive one. When is it okay to use it, and when do we cross that invisible line that turns into tyrants over our fellow man?"

Kitty then spoke up;

"Well, if the line is invisible Professor, then how do we know if we've crossed it?"

The students all laugh and a smile came to the Professor's face.

"Despite her cheek, Katherine does have a point. How are we to decide what is in the range of ethical behavior, and what is best left…"

Xavier trails off as he sudden sensed something.

"…to god?"

Jubilee then notice the look on the Professor's face and becomes concerned.

"Professor? Is something wrong?"

Xavier looked to her and smiled.

"No, nothing's wrong. We'll continue our discussion on ethics tomorrow. Class dismissed."

The class was confused as there was another half an hour left, but they slowly got up from their chairs to exit the classroom. Back in the hallway, Ororo was waiting outside the office as all the students began to leave the room. When the last one, Kitty exited by phasing through the wall like she usually did, Ororo walked in.

"Professor?"

Xavier turned his wheelchair to face her.

"Yes, Ororo. What is it?"

"That's the question I wanted to ask you. It's been three days in a row you've been letting the kids out early, and not giving them homework. Is everything alright?"

Xavier smiled a little, touched by her concern.

"I'm just a little worried about Scott."

"So he really is leaving?"

"I'm afraid so."

In the foyer of the mansion, the leader of the X-Men was standing by the front door putting his leather jacket on, looking like he was heading out as Xavier and Ororo were making their way towards him.

"Scott?" Ororo began. "You weren't thinking about leaving without saying goodbye to us, were you?

Scott turned to look at them and smiled, but only slightly.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Scott approached her and they hugged each other tightly. After a few moments they let go and Scott took a deep breath.

"I know I'm leaving you with a heavy burden."

"It's no burden-" Ororo began.

"Yes it is," Scott responded. "I'm sorry you have to train the new recruits on your own but I know you're capable of leading the team. I wouldn't be leaving if I didn't think you could do it."

"I appreciate that Scott."

Xavier then spoke up.

"Scott, you know that if you ever need anything, we're here for you."

"Of course."

"This will always be your home."

Scott smiled and leaned down to hug the Professor.

"Thank you Professor. Thank you for everything."

"Thank you, Scott," Xavier smiled.

Scott then gave one last look at them before finally turning to open the door and head out. A few moments later, Xavier and Ororo could hear the sound of a car speeding away from the institute. Ororo then sighed heavily.

"I know it sounds selfish, but I really wish he was staying."

"As do I," Xavier responded.

"It's just a big responsibility. Leading the team, getting the others ready."

"But Scott is right, you are capable. I just hope that time away from here is what he needs. He's taken Jean's death so hard."

Ororo slightly frowned.

"With all due respect Professor, Jean's death has affected us all."

"But some more than others. Scott is a changed man, and Logan…I'm afraid he's getting ready to leave us again as well."

"You're surprised? I didn't think he'd stick around for this long."

Xavier now looked disappointed.

"Because we're now so short staffed, I had hoped that he might stay this time around."

"Some things are out of your control. Logan is a loner, now matter how much we may want him to stick around he never will."

Ororo then gave the Professor a warm smile as they headed from the foyer. Unbeknownst to them, Logan was standing on top of the staircase and had heard every word that was said between them.

XXXXXXXX

A straight razor lies gleaming on a white sink inside of a expensive penthouse bathroom. Also up on the sink was a rope, rubbing alcohol, a pair of scissors, and other strange instruments. Ten year old Warren Worthington III was standing in front of mirror, sweating, and concentrating hard on cutting something. He then gasped in pain when he accidentally cut his back. Biting his lip, Warren stopped and placed the kitchen knife he had in his hand on the sink with the other things and picked up a towel that already had spots on the blood on it and placed it on the cut. Tears then slowly began to run down the young boy's face which he quickly wiped away. This whole thing wasn't going like he'd hoped. It was taking too long because he couldn't really see what he was doing.

Elsewhere in the penthouse, his father Warren Worthington Senior, a patrician in an expensive suit walked down the hall and saw his housekeeper, Sandra approaching.

"Sandra, have you seen my son?" Worthington asked.

"He's in the bathroom, Mr. Worthington," Sandra responded as she walked past him and continued down the hall.

"Still?"

He was now concerned as he walked down the hallway and approached the bathroom door. Worthington lightly knocked on it, and inside, Warren's head whipped around in a panic as he quickly stopped what he was doing.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Warren, what are you doing in there?"

"Nothing." Warren then hurried to put the things away.

"Come on. You've been in there for over an hour," Worthington responded, really becoming worried now as he heard commotion from inside. "Open the door."

The young boy quickly scurried to hide bloodied kitchen knifes. Blood and feathers also adorned on the white, tiled floor.

"One second!"

Worthington then began to bang on the door.

"Warren!" He yelled, now becoming angry. "Open this door!"

Tears streamed down Warren's face.

"Just a second!"

But it was too late. Worthington forced the door open and rushed into the bathroom only to stop, frozen in his tracks when he saw the blood and feathers on the floor. The two continued to stare at each other as Warren's bottom lip trembled before he began to sob.

"Dad...I'm sorry. I...I tried to make it go away."

"Oh my god," Worthington said to himself in horror. "Not you."

In the mirror, bloodied stumps on Warren's back mark where a pair of wings began to grow in…

"Ahh!"

Warren Worthington III, now eighteen years old launched upwards in bed as he woke up from a nightmare. He was sweating as he widely looked around the room while breathing heavily before realizing it was the same nightmare he had rather frequently, it was about the day his father found out that he was a mutant. Warren swung his legs over the side of the bed, resting his bare feet on the floor as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.

His father, Warren Senior was the CEO of Worthington Industries. It was a metal processing company, focused on value-added steel processing and manufactured metal products, such as metal framing, automotive past-model service stampings, and metal ceiling grind systems. They had forty four manufacturing companies worldwide, so throughout his life, Warren never had to worry about money. He lived in some of the fanciest mansions, rode in the back of limousines, and got to travel around the world with his father.

His mother died when he was only five, so his father was the only family he had. But despite the face that the two of them spent a lot of time together, Warren never really felt close to him. It was like there was something that kept the two of them from really being close, and Warren knew deep down what it was.

It was because he was a mutant.

And although his father didn't really have anything against mutants, the fact that a lot of other people did was enough. He couldn't imagine how the public or the press would react if they found out that such an important man like Warren Worthington Senior had a mutant for a son. The two of them talked to each other a few years ago about Warren's mutation, and they agreed to keep it a secret, not to tell anyone else. And so far, they had done a good job of keeping it under wraps as they were the only two who knew about it.

Suddenly, a knocking on the door got his attention. He quickly pulled the blanket off his bed and wrapped it around himself to hide his fully grown wings as he walked over and opened the door. It turned out to be one of his father many assistances.

"Warren, your father needs to talk to you. He says it's important."

He nodded.

"Tell him I'll be there in a minute."

After closing the door, Warren flexed his shoulders and his wings began to sink further into his back as he bunched them up as best he could before throwing on an extra large shirt and overcoat. When he was fully dressed, Warren entered his father's office and saw him talking with a woman he recognized as Dr. Kavita Rao. Worthington then looked over at his son and smiled.

"How are you son? Did you sleep alright?"

"What did you need to see me about, dad?" Warren asked, ignoring the question.

"You remember Dr. Rao, don't you?"

He looked to the doctor and nodded.

"Yeah, your company deals in pharmaceutical advancement right?"

"Yes." Kavita smiled. "We try to help people. We've created new and more advanced vaccines for sick people, and-"

"Warren, over the past year she's been developing a sore of cure…for mutants." Worthington interrupted. "And I've been the one who has been funding it."

Warren's brows furrowed as he looked from his father to Kavita.

"What kind of a cure?"

"A cure that will be able to suppress the mutant X-Gene…permanently."

Warren looked back at his father.

"But why would I-"

"It's okay Warren, she knows."

Kavita approached him and placed a hand on his arm.

"We can help you become normal again."

"But...it's not possible," Warren responded while shaking his head.

"It is, Warren." Kavita smiled. "We've found the solution to fixing this mutant problem."


	2. The Secretary of Mutant Affairs

XXXXXXXXX

Bobby and Rogue headed into the student lounge to see many of the younger kids gathered around the big screen television. Pitor, Kitty, and Jubilee were also in the room, sitting together on one of the couches. Bobby was curious to see what they were watching and saw that it was some political thing. He shook his head, a little bemused.

"Hey change this. Who watches C-SPAN?"

"Be quiet," Pitor responded. "Dr. McCoy is going to be on."

That peaked Bobby's interest.

"Really?"

"Who's Dr. McCoy?" Rogue asked.

"He use to be a teacher here," Bobby responded. "He left for Washington before you came around to become a mutant rights activist."

They all then focused their attention to the television screen. In Washington D.C., on the campus of the University of Phoenix, Henry McCoy, a middle-aged mutant who was covered from head to toe in blue fur stood before a large audience of students and began his speech.

"Throughout history, the human race has adapted, evolved to become the top of the food chain. But recently evolution has accelerated creating unpredictable changes in the fundamental nature of man. Some welcome these changes, seeing them as a blessing while others seek to stop them at all costs."

Hank glanced around the students as they seemed to be hanging on his every word, but he wondered if it was his words or his appearance.

"William Stryker was one who tried to destroy all mutants, while the mutant terrorist Magneto has used his abilities for criminal gain and vigilante justice," Hank continued. "After Stryker's plans were exposed, many have sought a détente in the conflict between homo sapiens and mutants but there are still threats out there that threaten the stability of our entire world."

Back in the student lounge, while they all continued to watch Dr. McCoy, Rogue took Bobby's hand as if to guide him out of the lounge, however he didn't acknowledge her. After a few more moments, Rogue gave up and walked away. Bobby slightly turned his head to see her leave before putting his attention back on the television screen. Rogue walked through the hall and when she passed the kitchen she saw Logan sitting at the counter with a beer bottle in his hand as he stared straight ahead at the wall.

"Hey. You're still here."

Logan raised an eyebrow as he turned his head to look at her.

"Surprised?"

"A little. I thought you were heading out again."

"I'm gonna stick around for a little while longer."

"Really?" Rogue headed into the kitchen and look a seat on the stool in front of Logan. "What are you going to do?

Logan shrugged.

"Well, I overheard the Professor say they are short staffed now that Scott is gone, so-"

"What? You're going to teach?"

Rogue couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Logan standing in front of a chalkboard with a pointer, Logan too chuckled a little before taking another sip of his beer. When the moment passed, Rogue decided to bring something else up.

"Can we talk?"

"Sure," Logan responded. "What about?"

"Bobby and me. We're…we're not the way we use to be. Ever since what happened with his family at Boston, and John leaving. When we got back from Alkali Lake, Bobby told me he wished he had stopped John from leaving the jet. I wish I tried harder too."

"You, Bobby, and John," Logan began. "There had to be an odd man out. Rogue, no one likes to hear this, but people grow apart. Especially young people."

"Like you remember being young," Rogue joked.

The two of them grinned at each other.

"Are you and Bobby happy?" Logan asked.

"We are."

Logan nodded.

"Good. That's good. You hold onto him. Let him know how you feel."

Rogue then got up and headed for the door, looking back at Logan one more time.

"Thanks Logan."

"Don't mention it."

Back in the student lounge, no one moved a muscle for an hour when the speech finally ended. At the University of Phoenix, Hank watched the students all getting up from their seats and heading to the exits. His eye caught that of a young brown-haired girl who smiled at him which Hank returned. He then turned back walked back behind the curtain of the stage when the principal of the college, Alicia Vargas approached him.

"Thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Vargas," Hank said. "I think it went well."

"Dr. McCoy, are you in some kind of trouble?" Alicia asked, ignoring his previous statement.

Hank's brows furrowed, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"A couple of Secret Services agents are here to see you."

Suddenly, two agents wearing black suits and black sunglasses approached the both of them.

"Dr. Henry McCoy?" One of them asked.

"Is there a problem, gentleman?" Hank responded.

"Dr. McCoy, we need you to come with us." The second agent then spoke. "The President has requested to meet with you."

"The President? Are you serious?"

Hank didn't believe it, but the agents looked dead serious.

"The President says that it is of great importance to the mutant community."

It turned out to be no joke. The agents drove him in a black SUV to the White House. The secret service agents led Hank down the hall and naturally other workers stopped to stare at Hank, some remembering another blue creature in the White House not too long ago. They walked past the desk of the President's secretary and once they got to the door of the Oval Office, one agent knocked on the door and got the attention of President McKenna, who was sitting at his desk looking over some document. The door then opened and Hank was led in.

"Mr. President," the agent began. "Dr. Henry McCoy is here."

President McKenna got to his feet as he walked over to shake the blue mutant's hand. Hank looked shocked to be standing in front of him.

"Dr. McCoy, thank you for meeting me on such short notice," President McKenna said.

"It's no problem at all, Mr. President," Hank assured.

The agents then closed the door, staying in the room. Normally they would give the President privacy when meeting with someone, but being that Dr. McCoy was a mutant, this was a special circumstance. Hank took a seat behind the desk while the President sat back down at his seat.

"I must admit, I'm rather surprised to be sitting in front of you right now," Hank stated.

"I'm going to get straight to the point, Dr. McCoy-"

"Hank. You can call me Hank."

"Well, Hank. Ever since my re-election the people have been crying out for a solution to this mutant…situation."

Smiling a little, Hank appreciated President McKenna using a different word instead of 'problem.'

"Well, I've been hearing about the possible reintroduction of the Mutant Registration Act, and I have to be honest Mr. President, I think that is the wrong way to go."

"I agree," President McKenna responded. "But mutants are an issure that require special attention. That's why I've decided to create a mutant's division in my cabinet. A special division that will focus on the mistreatment of mutants, getting mutants help with controlling their powers, and bringing mutant fugitives…like Magneto, to justice."

"Mr. President, I think that is a wonderful idea."

"I'm glad you think so. And like all divisions we need someone to head it. And that's why I asked you to be brought here today. I would like to offer you the job of Secretary of Mutant Affairs."

Hank stared at President McKenna, slightly stunned.

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Of course I accept," Hank answered. "But I have to ask, Mr. President, why me?"

"Well, with all due respect I think it's fairly obvious that you're a mutant. People have seen you on television. In order for this to work mutants out there have to know that this is for real."

"When do I start?"

"Immediately. In fact there is already one person already eager to join your staff. Senator Robert Kelly has a lot of interest in working with you."

Hank's eyes widened.

"Senator Kelly?"

"You know who he is, don't you?" President McKenna asked.

"Mr. President, there is something you need to know about Senator Kelly."

XXXXXXX

It was afternoon in California as a Blackhawk helicopter flu in the air, overlooking the San Francisco Bay and hovering above the splendor that was the Golden Gate Bridge, iridescent in the afternoon sun that was slowly starting to set. Inside, Senator Robert Kelly sat, gazing down at the ocean with two escourts sitting with him. The helicopter approaches Alcatraz Island where General Steven Lang stood, two soldiers at opposite sides of him as the helicopter lands and Kelly exits, rushing forward with his head low until he was a safe way away from the spinning helicopter blades.

"Thank you for meeting me in person, General."

Senator Kelly and General Lang shook hands.

"This way."

Lang then led Senator Kelly into the facility. Inside the Alcatraz prison, Lang and Kelly walked inside a laboratory in the building where they were about a dozen scientists working.

"In conjunction with Rao Labs, this facility acts a warehouse to further authenticate the cure serum," Lang stated.

"Last I heard this was still being used as a prison," Senator Kelly responded.

The general nodded.

"For mutants. Criminals basically. Ones we've managed to catch."

Kelly then eyed Lang which the general noticed.

"We're in full accordance with your committee's guidelines, Senator," Lang continued. "President McKenna himself approved of this."

"Very well. What is the origin of this serum?"

"Rao Labs extracts blood samples from one of their own mutant subjects. It was how they were able to replicate it."

"And that is where the subject is held?" Senator Kelly asked.

"Yes."

Suddenly, one of Lang's bodyguard's got a message in his earpiece. After hearing it, he looked to the general and signaled to him.

"Excuse me for a moment, Senator."

General Lang walked over to the soldier who whispered something in his ear. Senator Kelly was paying no attention to the interaction as he watched the scientists continuing to work. Just then, Lang appeared back at his side. He had a different look in his eyes now.

"Senator," Lang began, his voice hardened. "If you'd come this way, I would like to show you something else."

"The mutant prisoners?"

"Please come this way."

"Very well."

Senator Kelly and General Lang walked forward down the next hall with two soldiers a safe distance behind them. Suddenly, one of the soldiers pulled out a tranquilizer gun and fired. The dart hit the back of Senator Kelly's neck and he stumbled forward before pulling it out and spinning around in shock. He tried to run but Kelly's eyes then turned yellow as his legs gave out and he finally collapsed to the floor.

They gathered around the fallen man as Senator Kelly began to fade away and they found themselves staring down at the body of Mystique...

XXXXXXXX

The lights turned on suddenly, temporarily blinding her. Mystique sat before a Agent in his late forties. Mystique looked down at herself and saw that her hands were cuffed behind her back. She was being kept in an interrogation room inside the Alcatraz prison. It took her a few seconds to fathom what was actually occurring as the man sitting in front of her began to speak.

"Raven Darkholme," the agent began. "You've been impersonating a government official to get into high security places you don't belong in. That's called fraud you know. Where is the real Senator Robert Kelly?"

Mystique didn't respond, the agent the opened a file and began to look through it.

"You've been pretty busy of the last few months. Attacks in London, Geneva, Alberta. A lot of people were killed. Does that make you feel like you are accomplishing something?"

Again, Mystique says nothing.

"Where is Magneto?"

Mystique lowered her head, ignoring the question. The agent leaned forward.

"Raven, I asked you a question."

"I don't answer to my slave name," Mystique finally spoke.

"Raven Darkholme, that's your real name isn't it?" The agent asked. "You had a family once…or has he convinced you otherwise?"

Mystique looked up and glared at the agent, pure hate in her eyes.

"My family tried to kill me, you pathetic meat sack."

The agent sighed.

"Okay…Mystique. Where is he?"

Mystique morphed into Magneto.

"In here. With us."

The agent scoffed.

"Look, I don't want to play games with you. I want answers."

Mystique then morphed into the agent.

"You don't want to play games with me?"

"Raven stop this!" The agent yelled, now frustrated.

Turning back into her normal self, Mystique merely smirked at him. The agent glared even harder at the mutant woman.

"Listen to me, you are going to tell me where Magneto is!"

"You really want to know where he is?" Mystique then whispered. "Come here."

The agent leaned forward and Mystique lunged up, head-butting the agent. She then kicked her chair into the guard then leaps over the table and lands behind the agent, choking him with her hand cuff chains.

"Homo Sapiens," She growled.

Mystique then used the hold she had on the agent to crush his throat.

The door bursts open and four guards coming rushing into the room. Mystique lets go of the agent and nails one of them with a roundhouse kick. She goes to hit another but is shot in the back with a Taser gun. Mystique fell to the ground, her body convoluting as the two other guards began beating her with their clubs.

XXXXXXXXX

It was now night time at the White House as Hank was led down the hallways by several agents. They moved deeper and deeper into the core of the building, swooping past two marine-guards with machine guns in hand. By the time they look up Hank is already gliding through an imposing high-tech door. An alarm beeps as the door opens and Hank walks inside. He was now in the Situation Room where President McKenna was sitting at a long desk in the center of the room. There was a large screen at the end of the room where he and several other officials had just finished watching the playback of Mystique's interrogation. 

Once the President saw Hank, he smiled.

"Hank, good news. We've got her."

"That's great, Mr. President."

"Not bad for your first day of work."

Hank came over and the two of them shook hands before taking a seat in front of the President. The other officials at the table glanced at each other, looking a little uncomfortable which Hank ignored.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you know that Mystique was impersonating Senator Kelly?"

"Well…" Hank started, not knowing if he should tell the President about Professor Charles Xavier and the X-Men, and how he still stayed in touch with them over the years. "Let's just say I have my sources."

"I see."

The President said that with some suspession in his voice which Hank noticed and quickly changed the subject.

"Did we find out why Mystique was there in the first place?"

"Unfortunately, no. She was interrogated but it didn't go well. Not only did they not get any information but she managed to kill a federal agent."

"I hate to say that I'm not surprised." Hank sighed. "I don't think you're going to get anything from her unless you decide to go to the extreme."

"Well, the United States does not torture its civilians, mutant terrorist or not. And although she didn't say, we have a pretty good idea of what she was there for."

"And that is?"

President McKenna slid a file in front of the blue mutant.

"We've been receiving intelligence that a pharmaceutical company has been developing some kind of vaccine…for mutants."

"What kind of vaccine?"

Hank opened the file and scanned through it as President McKenna remained silent, as did the other officials. After a few moments, Hank's eyes widened as he got to a part about Dr. Kavita Rao and her 'Project Hope.'

"My god. Is this viable?"

"We believe it is, yes," President McKenna answered.

"This can't be possible," Hank said, still in disbelief as he continued to go further into the file.

"Hank, whether this is true or not, I want your full attention on it. We've begun hiring staff for you and an office building is being built downtown."

"Mr. President, do you know the level of impact this will have on the mutant community?"

"Yes, I do. Situations like this is why I brought you into my cabinet."

Hank then got to his feet.

"I need to go to New York."

The President's brows furrowed.

"Why there?"

"I think my sources are going to need to know about this. Some careful diplomacy is going to needed to turn the tide I fear my come with the news of this."

"How long will you be gone?"

"A couple of days. I need a couple of days."

President McKenna looked hesitant, especially about the part of Hank's 'sources' but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, for now at least. Maybe this could be a good way to see if he could truly trust Hank in being able to handle this new position.

"Very well," the President finally agreed. "But do not forget that we have need of your...diplomacy, here as well."

Hank smiled as he began to think of the school.

"All the more reason for me to be where I belong."


	3. Announcing the Cure

XXXXXXXXX

In the sub-complex of the institute the following morning, Storm was in uniform preparing the controls for the Danger Room. She pressed a couple of buttons and set the level at five before stepping out into the hallway to see Logan leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face.

"Preparing for a Danger Room session?" Logan asked.

"You're still here," Storm responded, a little surprised.

"Yeah. I've decided to stick around for a little while."

"What are you going to do?"

"I know that you need to train the others. And with Scott gone I figured that I could help you."

"You really want to help?"

"I'm not good at much but I've been fighting all my life. I think I could teach them all a thing or two."

Storm looked down at the floor and sighed a little. Logan took notice of the hesitation that was written on the face of the weather godess.

"What's that look?" Logan demanded.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy you want to help," Storm then chose her next words carefully. "But you're not exactly a team player. You don't follow orders, you don't use team work-"

"So what? You can't always depend on the team for help."

Storm looked him in the eyes.

The reason this team works is because we know that out there, we can rely on each other. If you're going to be with us, than be with us."

That was the last thing said between them as Nightcrawler, Iceman, Rogue, and Colossus came around the corner all in uniform. Logan was the only one without one on. He looked down at himself and sighed.

"Just give me a minute."

Wolverine then ran into the dressing room and changed into uniform as quick as he could, which was much easier said than done. He cursed these damn leather uniforms before running into the Danger Room just as the lights turned off the doors closed behind him. The lights then came back on as the room began to change its size, shape, color, and soon the X-Men found themselves standing in...

A desert wasteland.

Beneath their feet was the cracked, scorched earth of a desert. A couple of completely dried up, dead trees stood in his distance as several tumbleweeds blew by them. The room even simulated extremely hot, dry air. There was nothing around, except when they turned to look behind them, a large pyramid stood in the center of the desert.

"So what do we do?" Colossus questioned.

His question was quickly answered as several large drones came down from the yellowish sky and began firing down upon the pyramid, blasting pieces of it off with their laser guns.

"Stop them from damaging the pyramid at all costs," Storm directed the team. "Logan, Kurt take the right side. Bobby and Pitor take the left. Rogue and I will stay in front."

To her surprise, Wolverine did what he was told with no argument. As one of the drones came down again, Iceman released a wave of ice at it but it was too high up and it nailed the pyramid again. The second drone came down, beginning to fire at the pyramid as well and Wolverine looked at Nightcrawler.

"Get me up to it!"

Nightcrawler grabbed him and teleported up into the sky, dropping Wolverine down on the back of the drone. Wolverine drove his claws straight into the machines 'brain'. It exploded and began spinning out of control in mid-air.

BAMF!

Teleporting back up, Nightcrawler grabbed Wolverine and got him back down to the ground safely. The pyramid was hit once again by another blast from a drone.

"That's it," Iceman said to himself.

Iceman then pointed his hands to the ground and formed a wave of ice beneath his feet. He extended one of his hands and continued forming more ice that he began 'surfing' on. He circled around the pyramid, coating it in a thick lair of frost, giving it some protection from further strikes. As Iceman continued on, Storm looked to Rogue and held out her hand to the younger girl.

"Absorb some of my power, Rogue."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Reluctantly, Rogue tore off one her gloves and touched Storm's hand for a brief moment. Suddenly, she began to levitate high off the air. The second drone came down but before it could fire, Rogue looked over and saw that Storm was now flying right next to her. Feeling the power, her eyes rolled back as Rogue held out her hands and fired a lightning bolt at the drone. Storm did the same and together, they electrocuted it.

"Two down, one to go," Wolverine said, as he looked on.

The drone that Storm and Rogue took down began falling to the ground. Colossus in his metaled up form ran and jumped up, catching it. He spun himself around once and hurled it like a Frisbee at the third and final drone. It crashed right into it, causing an explosion in the sky. The team got out of harms way as pieces of flaming debris came raining down. Storm and Wolverine looked at each other and grinned as the session came to an end.

"Great job, everyone," Storm congratulated the new recruits. "I think that his was our best session yet."

Wolverine looked upon the four newest members of the X-Men and couldn't help but feel proud of them.

"I think we'll give you all the rest of the day off. You deserve it."

Storm nodded in agreement as the new recruits looked at each other, big smiles on all of their faces. The room went back to normal and they all stepped out. After changing Ororo walked out of the dressing room to see Artie and Jones, two of the younger students standing together, seemingly waiting for her.

"What are you two doing down here?"

"Ms. Munroe, there's someone here to see you," Jones said. "He says is name is Henry McCoy."

"Hank?" Ororo smiled.

Back in the study, Henry was staring a picture on the wall. It was of him, Scott, Jean, and Ororo, all in their X-Men uniforms. It was taken years ago, right before he left. Suddenly, Ororo ran into the room.

"Hank!"

Henry spun around and laughed heartily.

"Ororo!"

The two of them hugged tightly as Kurt came walking in. After they separated, Ororo motioned for Kurt to come over.

"Kurt, this Henry McCoy," she introduced. "Hank, this is Kurt Wagner."

The two blue mutants shook hands.

"Pleasure to meet you Kurt."

"Likewise."

By the other doorway of the room, Logan now stood there, watching the reunion with a bemused look on his face.

"Who's the furball?"

Henry slowly turned his head to look at Logan, a slight growl escaping his mouth at the insult.

"This is Hank McCoy," Ororo said while placing a hand on Hank's wrist in order to help him remain calm. In the old days, Hank had a temper on him that could rival Logan's. "He was one of the first X-Men, Logan. Even before me."

Suddenly, Xavier appeared and rolled his wheelchair into the room.

"I heard that we have company."

"Professor," Hank smiled.

He walked over and leaned down to give the Professor a light hug.

"It's nice to see you again, Henry."

"You too. Sorry for just springing in on you like this."

"It's no problem at all, Henry," Xavier assured. "You're apart of this place."

"How long are you staying?" Ororo asked.

"Unfortunately, not long. This is not a social call. I have news."

"Good or bad?"

"Both," Hank sighed.

"Why don't we hear the good news first?" Xavier suggested.

"Well, after my television appearance, the President contacted me and offered me a job in his cabinet. And I accepted."

Ororo looked at the Professor, slightly taken aback by Hank's statement before looking back at her former team mate and smiling brightly.

"Henry, that's great."

"It seems the President is becoming much more acceptant of mutant kind," Xavier said, remembering the meeting between him and the X-Men right after they had flown from Alkali Lake. Right after Jean sacrificed her life...

"What's the bad news?" Logan asked.

Hank took a deep breath. He wasn't looking forward to this.

"The President gave me a report on something that a company called Rao Labs has been working on. It can supposedly suppress the mutant X-gene. They're calling it a cure."

Ororo looked to Xavier and they stared at each other for a moment, taking in the news before Ororo looked back at Henry.

"That's ridiculous. You can't cure being a mutant."

"Well, scientifically speaking—"

"What is there to 'cure', Henry?"

"Ororo," Kurt began. He had the television that stood in the corner of the room turned on and had it on the channel of a news broadcast. "They're announcing it now."

Everyone else in the room focused their attention on the television. Meanwhile, in the student lounge, Rogue was sitting on the couch, watching the same broadcast as a reporter on screen began speaking.

"We are now about to go to Warren Worthington Senior, who has made a breakthrough discovery about a possible cure for mutation."

Rogue sat up, on the edge of the couch, her full attention now on the broadcast. Outside of the Worthington Industries building located in Manhattan, Worthington stood at a podium. Seated to his left was Dr. Kavita Rao. He began to address the crowd, the reporters, and the entire world who had tuned in.

"They've been called saints and sinners. They've committed atrocities, and been the victims of atrocities themselves. They've been labeled monsters, and not without reason. But these so-called monsters are people, just like us. And we want to help them. Dr. Rao."

Worthington moved aside as Kavita stood up and took the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thanks to generous funding of Mr. Worthington, I and my team at Rao Labs have finally found the solution that mutants out there have been looking for. Like Mr. Worthington has told you, mutants are people. People like us. People with a disease. The mutant gene is nothing more than a corruption of healthy cellular activity."

Rogue continued watching the television as now other students had gathered in and began watching the screen as well.

"Ladies and gentlemen…we have found hope," Kavita said. Rogue's gaze intensified as Kavita held up a test tube with a glowing purple liquid inside of it. 

"Finally, we have a cure."

Rogue took a deep, realived breath. 

Back in the study, Ororo and Kurt were sitting down on the couch, just finishing watching the same broadcast. Logan sat on the desk, Hank stood off in the corner with the Professor. They all were quiet for a moment before Ororo finally spoke, a hint of anger in her voice.

"A 'disease'? Since when are we a disease?"

"Bet our government boy knows all about it," Logan said, looking towards Hank but he shook his head.

"I can assure you, the government had nothing to do with this. Rao Labs is a private venture."

"Who would want this cure, anyway?" Ororo asked as she looked around the room. "I mean what kind of coward would give up their gift just to fit in?"

Kurt looked down at his three-fingered hand.

"Not all of us have such an easy time fitting in, you know."

Ororo closed her eyes for a moment before touching Kurt's hand.

"Oh…I'm sorry, Kurt. It's just—"

"Believe me, I understand," Xavier finally said. "Forget the personal crises—this is a veritable Pandora's box. I'm not so worried about what this cure can do, as I am about what the government can do with it."

"And Magneto?" Logan questioned. "How do you think he's going to react to this?"

Before any of them could answer, Rogue suddenly ran into the room.

"Hey! Is it true? They can cure us?"

"Yes, it appears to be true, Rogue-" Xavier began.

"No!" Ororo yelled while standing up. She then walked over towards Rogue. "They can't cure you, Rogue. Because there's nothing wrong with you." Ororo then looked to the others in the room. "There's nothing wrong with any of us for that matter."

"I don't think you're qualified to make that statement, Ororo!" Hank said heatedly while getting to his feet. "There are plenty of mutants who-"

"What do you want me to think, Hank? Our powers are part of who we are. It's part of our identities!"

"You think I want this to be part of my identity?" Rogue said, incrediously. 

Everyone in the room then looked at Rogue.

"I'm Sorry, Ms. Munroe, but if that's the case, you gotta think again. I don't care what anyone says, there is something wrong with me, and I wanna fix it." Logan frowned heavily as he continued to stare at the young girl. "And it's my choice," Rogue finished. She then slowly turned and walked out of the study. Everyone else in the room just stood in silence, the news of the cure for mutation having a heavy effect on them all.

While the reaction was being felt in Xavier's Institute, elsewhere in a forest, black combat boots glided over the grass of a forest as a figured moved at a brisk pace until reaching a rather large distinctive looking tree. Pyro pushed on a branch that opened a door that led down to the underground hideout Magneto had designed for The Brotherhood. Inside was grey and metallic in look and texture. Pyro walked down the stairs and went through a set of corridors until he finally came to a set of metal double-doors of Magneto's office. Inside, the leader of the Brotherhood was sitting quietly at his desk.

"They've just announced it," Pyro informed him. Magneto just continued to sit there, staring at the clanging balls of Newton's cradle game on his desk. "Have you gotten any word back from Mystique?"

"No," Magneto finally spoke. "I'm afraid something has gone wrong."

"How could she of gotten caught? She can imitate anyone."

"We will have to go to San Francisco tonight."

Magneto stood up, ignoring the younger mutant's question. The plan always was to attack Alcatraz to free the mutants being held there, it just wasn't supposed to be this soon. "Save your strength, we'll attack late in the night, so not to risk interference from Charles."

Pyro shook his head.

"I don't understand something. If the Professor is intent on always interfering in your plans why don't you just attack the mansion and get rid of him?"

"For the same reason you wouldn't turn against your old friends."

"Just say the word and they're ash."

Magneto smiled a little. He clearly didn't believe the pyromaniac.

"Even now, despite everything that has happened between us, I still have far too much affection for the Professor to attack his very own home. Hopefully Pyro, the day will come when you and your friends will be reunited in a world free of humanity's prejudice."

"They aren't my friends."

Magneto ignored him and began to walk out of the office. He then called over his shoulder.

"Be ready at midnight."

XXXXXXXXXX

Once the press conference finished up, Worthington and Kavita walked along a long hallway of the large office building, making their way to the room of James Hawkins, also known by the name 'Leech'. The mutant child who's DNA was responsible for the creation of the cure.

"I'm afraid we might have a little problem, Mr. Worthington," Kavita began.

"What is it?"

"I've just gotten word that the President has appointed a mutant to be part of his cabinet."

"So what's the problem?" Worthington questioned.

"Well, we are keeping a mutant child here, and his powers are the focal point of the serum." Kavita reminded him. "The new appointee might insist on an investigation of the cure before we can release it to the public."

"We're not mistreating the child, and his father has been compensated very generously. We'll keep everything on schedule."

"Very well. Tonight we will test the cure on several of the mutant prisoners at Alcatraz. Just to be absolutely sure that it works."

The two of them then stopped outside a room with a viewing window. Worthington looked inside and saw his son playing video games with Leech. The child was bald with bright green skin and yellow eyes. Kavita smiled at the sight.

"Your son has been keeping him company ever since you two arrived."

Inside of Jimmy's room, it was all white and padded. A bed was at the side and a flat screen television in the corner of the room. Warren and Jimmy sat in front of it, playing the new Burnout game on the PlayStation 3.

"Ready to lose this time?" Warren grinned as a new race started up.

"Not on your life," Jimmy responded.

"Are you saying you want me dead?" Warren fake gasped.

Jimmy laughed as their cars crashed into each other on the screen. Warren maneuvered his car around and now was in the lead. "How much longer do you have to stay here?" He then asked.

"I don't know. Not too much longer I hope. It's boring here."

"How did Dr. Rao find you anyway?"

"My dad works for her."

"Really?"

Jimmy nodded as his car again crashed into Warren's.

"Where were you before you were here?"

"At a school."

Warren looked over at Jimmy, surprised by his answer.

"What kind of school?" To be perfectly honest, Warren couldn't believe any school would take him in. It was actually a miracle that he was still alive and that he hadn't been harmed by some crazy anti-mutant protestor. His parents must have done a good job in keeping him safe. Or perhaps his parents never let him leave the house. Warren could certainly relate to that. 

"Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters," Jimmy finally said. "It's a safe place for people like me."

Warren stared at the screen absent-mindedly. A school for mutants? A safe place for mutants? There would be others like him there? The thoughts caused him to lose his concentration and Jimmy's car regained he lead. The door then opened up and Warren's father stuck his head in.

"Warren. We have to go."

Warren frowned a little as he put the controller down.

"Sorry," He apologized. "We'll play longer when I visit again. And I'll beat you next time."

"Please, I beat you three straight times."

"I was just taking it easy on you."

Warren placed his hand on Jimmy's bald head and lightly shook it as Jimmy laughed and shoved the older boy's hand away. He then watched Warren leave the room to head back to the penthouse with his father.


	4. Alcatraz Prison Breakout

XXXXXXXX

After the sun went down and the stars came out to cover the night sky most of the school had turned in as it was now starting to get late. But outside the mansion grounds, Rogue was sitting on a bench looking at the massive fountain before her, a lot on her mind at the moment. Bobby then opened the patio door and walked outside, slowly approaching her from behind.

"Hey."

Rogue turned her head to look back at him. She smiled.

"Hey yourself."

Bobby took a seat next to her, a little concerned she was sitting out here alone at this time. But before he could say anything, Rogue spoke again.

"I wonder why it's not snowing yet," Rogue then thought back to her days of growing up in the deep south. "That's the one thing I didn't like about Mississippi. Hardly ever snowed."

"We can fix that you know," Bobby said as an idea came to his head.

"Oh yeah? How's that?"

"Just watch." Bobby then got up and placed his hand on the fountain, covering it in ice. Rogue watched him as Bobby turned back to her. "Give me your feet."

"What?" Rogue laughed.

"Come on, give me your feet."

Rogue sat on the edge of the fountain, and Bobby makes ice skates for her. He does the same for himself, and they began skating. After skating around in a complete circle hand in hand, Bobby spoke.

"Thinking about the cure?"

"I think we all are."

"But you're not actually thinking about taking it are you?"

Rogue took a deep breath.

"Do you know what it's like to kiss a boy-"

"I don't actually," Bobby interrupted. They both laughed, but the moment didn't last long.

"I'm serious Bobby. I want to be able to touch people without worrying about killing them. A hug...a handshake...a kiss."

Bobby looked over at her.

"This isn't about me, is it?"

"No," Rogue shook her head. "It wouldn't be for you...it'd be for me."

The two skated in another circle quietly before Bobby spoke up again.

"I'm sorry we haven't been spending that much time together."

"It's okay, you went through a lot. With John leaving, and what happened with your family-"

"Speaking of that, my mom actually called my cell-phone a little while ago. I missed it through cause I was messing around with Pitor and Flea."

"It sounds like they've finally come around," Rogue said. She remembered how hurt he had been the days and weeks following getting back from Alkali Lake. Ever sense then, Bobby had been trying to make contact with them but his calls were always unanswered. She tried to comfort him, telling Bobby that all his family needed was time to get over what had occurred at their home several months ago. She hoped she was right.

"Yeah, I hope so. She didn't leave a message though," Bobby said, a little disappointed.

"I'm sure she'll call back."

They both looked at each other silence for a moment before Rogue nearly trips but Bobby caught her and they both laugh. They then skate over to the fountain's edge and sat down. Rogue leaned forward and kisses him lightly on the cheek, as lightly as possible so not to hurt him.

"This was nice. Thank you."

Bobby shrugged a shoulder.

"I thought it could take our minds off things."

"Good night, Bobby."

"Good night."

Taking off her shoes, Rogue got up and headed back inside the mansion with Bobby watching her the whole way. Once she was inside, he looked up towards the night sky and smiled.

Back inside of the mansion, Logan was in the second floor inside the gym. In addition to the Danger Room, the gym had weights and other exercise equipment, along with mats so they could practice hand to hand sparring. Logan stood at a punching bag, hitting it as hard as he could. As he continued on, images of William Stryker began flashing in his mind as heard his voice.

'People don't change, Wolverine. You were an animal then, you're an animal now. I just gave you claws.'

SNIKT!

Logan quickly unearthed his claws from his knuckles and stabbed the bag. He glared down at the floor as the insides of the bag spilled out when a voice got his attention.

"Excuse me."

Logan looked over and saw Hank standing by the entrance of the gym.

"Am I bothering you?" Logan snapped.

Hank shook his head.

"Not at all. I just finished talking to the Professor, trying to catch up on things I missed in the time I've been away. He told me a lot about you."

"Oh yeah?"

"He said you helped stop Magneto at Liberty Island. And you helped stop Stryker at Alkali Lake."

"Yeah, I did."

Logan walked over to the weight set and picked up a fifty pound dumbbell.

"Very brave of you," Hank complimented. "I wish I could have been there, but I don't know if these old bones could handle that kind of thing anymore."

Logan turned his head to look at him.

"How old are you?" It was hard to tell with the blue fur that covered his face.

"Just turned fifty five. How about yourself?"

"Couldn't tell you," Logan answered as he continued his workout. "I don't remember."

Hank nodded.

"The Professor also said that you're taking over for Scott."

"Not really. I'm just helping getting the new recruits get ready…and then…"

"What?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you just stay here?" Hank questioned.

Logan didn't respond, but that was what was bothering him. He'd been chasing after his past for so long, now that Stryker had taken what he'd known about Logan to his grave he really didn't know what to do with himself.

"I don't know if I really belong here."

Logan then looked as if he shouldn't have said that out loud. But Hank only smiled, he knew what it was like not to feel like you belong at a place all too well.

"If you've really done all the things the Professor said you did, than I can assure you, you do."

Logan didn't get a chance to respond as Hank turned away and began heading back to his room. Placing the dumbbell down, Logan went after him and called down the hall.

"Hey Hank! Want to have a beer?"

Hank turned around, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Beer? We have beer here?"

Logan smirked as he walked out of the gym and motioned for Hank to follow him downstairs, leading him to the kicthen. Once they reached their destination, Logan opened up the refrigerator for Hank to see a six pack of beer on one of the shelves. It had a note pinned on it that read 'This is Logan's beer. I know your smell'.

"Now we do," Logan said as he took out two bottles, handing one to Hank.

He then used his claws to take off the bottle top. He then does the same for Hank's bottle. The blue mutant glanced at the note again before looking back at claws coming out of Logan's knuckles.

"Must work like a charm."

XXXXXXXXX

Inside the facility on Alcatraz, several guards walked into the room where Mystique was being held in her own private cell, leading a lizard-esque mutant to a table. Once he was on it they clasped his wrists and ankles so he couldn't move. Mystique then morphed into the appearance of President McKenna and began yelling;

"Let me out of here! I demand that you release me!"

One of the guards rolled his eyes as he turned and walked towards the holding cell. The President was right up against it, gripping the bars.

"Do you know who I am? I am the god damn President of the United States!"

The guard smacked his nightstick against the bars.

"Mr. President, shut the hell up!"

The guard turned back around but then hears the cries of a little girl.

"Let me go. Please."

Turning back around, he saw that Mystique had taken on the appearance of a six year old girl. The guard then put away his nightstick and took out his pepper-spray.

"Get away from the bars or I'll spray you in the face, bitch."

The girl smiled evilly.

"When I get out of here, I'm going to kill you myself."

"Yeah, we'll see."

General Lang then walked in with a doctor by his side. The doctor had a syringe in hand that contained the cure. The general looked over at the holding cell and addressed Mystique.

"We've already tested this on several different mutants already. I just wanted you to see it for yourself what this does."

Lang then nodded towards the doctor, who came forward and injected the mutant on the table with the cure. Mystique watched as the mutant spasmed as slowly his greenish-grey scales went away before they all found themselves staring at a now normal looking man. The general looked over at Mystique and smirked as he saw that her façade cracked, and saw fear in her eyes, if only for a moment.

"Raven Darkholme," he then began, "You've put thousands, if not millions of lives in danger. You're going to answer all the questions I need from you."

"I'd rather die a fighter than a traitor."

"Tell me where Magneto is!" Lang demanded.

"Go to hell," Mystique spat.

He glared at her.

"Have it your way." General Lang then looked at the doctor. "Go get another sample. And then I'll inject her personally."

Meanwhile, a rush of late night traffic crosses The Golden Gate Bridge. Suddenly, several of the cars screech to a halt. Two other cars crash into each other. Many drivers look around, panicked. Down at the end of the bridge, Magneto and Pyro begin walking down it, Magneto's hands outstretched. He magnetically parts the sea of cars, sending them crashing to either side of the bridge. Citizens have now begun to leave their cars and run away. Magneto smirks as he comes to a stop and then looks down to the end of the bridge.

Extending his arms grandly, he focused all his power, and began to tear the bridge from the supporting cables and columns. Soon, the entire section of the bridge was free, and began floating forwards Alcatraz. Back on the island, troops rush up observation towers to get a better view, and react in astonishment as they see the bridge moving towards them. It moves over them, and some of the soldiers manage to run away before Magneto released his hold, and the bridge landed on the steep rocky shore of Alcatraz Island.

General Lang followed a Sergeant into the surveillance room. He was concerned and in a hurry to see what had happened.

"Damn it, what the hell is going on?!"

The cameras then showed what was left of the Golden Gate Bridge landing on the island and Lang's eyes widened, knowing there was only one mutant he knew of that was strong enough to do that.

"Get soldiers to the front of this facility!"

After hearing the order, the soldiers grabbed their guns and began rushing to the front of the complex. Magneto smirked when he saw them and looked back at Pyro.

"Follow my lead."

Magneto summoned a car from behind him and sends it into the air. Pyro sent a fireball up, turning the car into a grenade and it landed on a group of soldiers.

"Get back!" A soldier yelled.

Magneto sent two more cars up into the air which Pyro lit on fire. One hit an observation tower, the other crashed onto the ground, flipping twice before settling. Another car was sent up, then another which took out some more soldiers.

Lifting up three more cars, Magneto launched them forward as Pyro sent up three different jets of flame, lighting each one on fire. One of the cars actually stuck the facility itself. The power inside went off as one of the laboratories caught fire. Sending up one more car, Magneto sent it flying towards the facility, right at where the surveillance room was. General Lang looked as the flaming car came right at him, but before he could even try to run from the room or even scream it crashed right through, killing him instantly as an explosion went off. Feeling the damage was done, Magneto stepped off the bridge and onto the island. By this time the soldiers had recovered and began firing at him but he easily stopped them all and pushed back all the bullets, causing them to go back and pierce through the dozens of soldiers. 

Back inside the holding room, the guards had lost their bearings due to the attack. The one guard who had threatened Mystique earlier had lost his footing and fell back against the cell. Mystique slithered her legs out and captured the guard's neck with her feet, breaking it with a sickening crack.

"Told you so," Mystique smirked.

Mystique then used her toes to take the keys off the dead guards belt and unlocked her cell. As she walked out of it, Magneto was walking down a corridor filled with cells. He continued on and with a simple nod, the cell doors began falling down one by one. Curious mutants slowly walked to the entrance of their cell, sticking their heads out to see who had freed them. Back outside, Pyro walked forward and before a soldier could have a chance to shoot, he manipulated his deadly fire and scorched his body. He then noticed a tank of oxygen nearby the facility and sent a fireball at it, causing a huge explosion to go off before he made his way inside.

As Pyro went in, a bunch of people in prisoner uniforms began running towards him.

"Get out of here! Go up the bridge!" He ordered. Pyro watched as the prisoners did as he said and began running up to the bridge. Pyro then headed inside in search of Magneto.

The leader of the Brotherhood continued on throughout the facility until the door down the end of the hall opened and Mystique walked through. They both smiled as they walked towards each other.

"About time," Mystique complained.

"I've been busy."

They both stopped once they were standing together.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Magneto asked.

Mystique nodded.

"The source of the cure is a mutant. A child, being kept at Worthington Industries in New York. Without him, they have nothing."

Magneto looked over as Pyro was now by his side.

"Well then, that's where we are going. We will destroy this cure at its very source."

Mystique and Pyro looked to him nodded.

"Let's go. Our mission here is complete."

"Just a moment," Mystique said. "I have a little surprise for you."

Looking somewhat intrigued, he followed Mystique down another hallway until they reached the door of a highly reinforced cell that held only one prisoner inside.

"I think you might recognize this inmate," she said to Magneto.

Magneto's eyebrows raised with curiosity as he used his power to rip the door off it's hinges. Sitting inside with chains holding him in place and a metal facemask on was Sabretooth. Magneto smiled when he saw the former member of his Brotherhood, not knowing what had happened to him after Liberty Island.

"Hello, Victor."

Magneto then magnetically torn the chains and facemask off, freeing the near seven-foot mutant with a mane of blonde hair. Sabretooth walked out of the cell and eyed the three mutants that stood in front of him. Pyro cautiously took a step back as he looked over the savage mutant's appearance.

"Erik," Sabretooth nodded.

"I could use you be my side again."

"Like that worked out so well for me last time?" Sabretooth snarled. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Sabretooth then brushed by them as he walked into the next hallway. Several soldiers were now coming down the hall and began firing once they saw Sabretooth. The savage mutant roared in fury and lunged forward, slicing one of the soldier's machine gun in half with his claws. He then swung his left hand, slashing the soldier's throat. Blood sprayed against the wall as Sabretooth broke the second soldier's neck before picking up the third, slamming him to the ground and lifting his boot. He then crushed the third soldier's throat with his foot.

Sabretooth breathed heavily, like a wild animal as he licked the blood that was dripping from his claw-like fingernails.

"It's been a long time since I've killed anyone. I almost forgot how good it feels."

As he cracked his neck, Magneto appeared from behind him.

"I take it you don't wish to see your old friend, Logan, again?"

Slowly turning around, a look of pure hatred was written on the face of Sabretooth at the mention of that name. Magneto smirked and motioned with his hand for Sabretooth to follow him, which he did. If Magneto could get him Wolverine, then he would join him again after all. They all headed outside where the prisoners were waiting. Magneto used his powers to move the bridge with them all on it back over to the mainland.

Alcatraz Island, the prison that once stood strong had been completely destroyed. Fire was everywhere, totaled burning cars littered the island as dozens of soldiers lay dead on the ground. Several helicopters began flying towards the island but it was too late. By this time Magneto, Mystique, Sabretooth and Pyro, along with the mutant prisoners being kept there were long gone.


	5. Infiltrating Rao Laboratories

XXXXXXXX

The following morning inside the study of the institute, Hank was standing next to the Professor in his wheelchair as they watched a news broadcast. The Golden Gate Bridge had been ripped apart and all off the mutant prisoners had been broken out of prison facility on Alcatraz Island. Xavier looked at the shots of the twisted metal, fires, and all the other damage before lowering his eyes, full well knowing that his old friend was responsible for all of it.

Hank took a deep breath.

"I'm going to have to get back to Washington, Professor. I'm sure the President is going to want to see me about this, and figure out what to do about Magneto."

"I understand, Henry."

"We should have expected something like this."

"Yes," Xavier agreed. He knew how his old friend thought. "No doubt Erik sees this cure as a weapon that will be used against mutants."

"I can't stop thinking about it, Professor," Hank admitted. "I want to know. I want to know if this so called 'cure' will work or not. And if it's safe for mutants to take."

"As do I."

"It's not that I don't trust the company that's developed it…I just want to know for myself. From what I've been hearing from the news, it's going to be released to the public anytime now."

"Could you request a sample? With your new position in the President's cabinet there must be a way."

Hank shook his head.

"I'm afraid I don't know how much power I have. And like I said, Rao Labs is a private company, I don't know if can just go in and ask for a sample without being denied."

Suddenly, an idea then came to the Professor.

"Henry…I think I know a way to get you in there. Without being detected."

"Oh yeah? How?"

Xavier smiled.

"I happen to know a girl who can walk through walls."

XXXXXXXXX

Warren had been up all night in his father's penthouse apartment in the city. He was currently sitting at the computer in his bedroom, continuing to look up more information on that school Jimmy had told him about. Feeling like he finally needed a break, Warren took a deep breath as he got up and smiled to himself as an idea came to mind. The curtains in his room were drawn and the door was locked. No one was going to see. His wings began to flap gently, and slowly he lifted off the ground and kept going up until his head reached the ceiling. Warren grinned as he looked down at the floor. He had done this only a couple of times ever since his wings had fully grown in a few years ago.

He glided across the room when suddenly a knock on the door caused him to drop back to the floor.

"Just a second."

Warren threw on his overcoat and walked over to open the door to see his father standing there.

"Warren," he smiled. "Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Warren stepped back and his father walked into the room, shutting the door behind him. Worthington took a seat on the leather recliner while Warren sat down on the bed.

"I have some good news. I just got confirmation that the cure works and it is safe to take. We'll have a sample ready for you this afternoon."

He then looked to the side for a moment, not bothering to tell his son about the attack on Alcatraz last night by mutant terrorists.

"Oh." Warren was hesitant to bring up the next subject to his father. "Dad, I wanted to tell you something."

"Go ahead."

"I was talking with Jimmy the other day, and he told me that he use to go to a school…for mutants."

"Really?" Worthington said, but didn't look particularly interested in the topic.

"Yeah, he said the name was Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. I looked it up and it's only an hour away from here, in Westchester. And I was thinking…maybe…I could go check it out."

Worthington shook his head.

"Warren...that's no place for you to be."

Warren got to his feet and walked to the windows, throwing back the curtains in frustration.

"Dad, all my life I've been sheltered because of this. I didn't go to public school, hell, I didn't even go to a private school, you hired a teacher to come here. It's like I've been living in a cave. All because you're ashamed that I'm a mutant."

"I've never been ashamed of you."

Worthington got to his feet and put his hands on either side of Warren's shoulders, looking him in the eye.

"I was just trying to protect you. After your mother died you were all I had left. I didn't want something to happen to you."

Warren nodded, not wanting to start a fight with his father.

"I know."

"But we don't have to worry about that any more. Today it will all be over, from now on you'll be normal. All mutants out there will have the chance to become normal again. And then one day I'll step down from this company and you'll take over."

"Sounds good."

Warren said that with false cheer as he looked down at the floor. His father then gave him a look.

"It is what you want, right?"

"Yes."

"Alright," Worthington smiled. "Be ready around three o'clock."

Warren nodded as his father turned and walked out of the room. He then sighed heavily before sitting back down on the bed and putting his face in his hands.

XXXXXXXX

Elsewhere, the Brotherhood had hijacked a train last night soon after the attack on Alcatraz. Mystique was at the engine, operating the train with Sabretooth sitting with her as the rest of the mutant prisoners sat together in the passenger car of the train. They were about forty-five in number and as they continued to just quietly sit, Magneto entered the compartment and stood before the mutants.

"My brothers, we shall take you all somewhere safe. However, if anyone wishes to join my Brotherhood and fight, the invitation stands."

A figure all the way in the back, hidden by all the others suddenly stood up and moved towards the older mutant. Magneto smiled as he recognized his old protégé, Mortimer Toynbee, better known to him as Toad.

"Hey, boss," Toad greeted. "I thought I'd never see you again."

Magneto gave him a nod.

"Toad, it's been some time. You're willing to fight along side us, once more?"

"Yes. I want that bitch who fried me with lightning."

"Very well. Follow me."

Magneto led Toad to a different part of the train, the sleeper compartment. Toad turned his head to look down at Pyro, who was sitting against the window and flicking his shark lighter open and closed.

"Who's this?" Toad asked.

"Pyro. Pyro, this is Toad," Magneto introduced. "A former member of the Brotherhood."

Pyro glanced at him for a second but didn't speak or offer his hand in response to the other mutant.

"You recruited a kid?" Toad scoffed. 

"This 'kid' has done more for the cause than you've ever done," Pyro fired back, still not bothering to look at him.

Toad glared down at him.

"You sure about that?"

"Enough," Magneto ordered. "We should be arriving in Manhattan early in the morning. Get some rest."

Magneto moved on to the engine to be with Mystique and Sabretooth as Toad sat down across from Pyro who continued flicking his lighter open and closed while staring out the window. After a couple more times of that, Toad twitched visibly with annoyance.

"Can you stop that already?"

Pyro smirked.

"Nope."

Toad smirked at him and in a flash his long tongue flew from his mouth, wrapping around Pyro's hand, pulling the lighter out and bringing it to him.

"Mine now."

"Give it back," Pyro demanded.

Toad looked at him before flicking the lighter open and closed, mimicking Pyro.

"Hmm…nope. Don't think so."

Pyro got to his feet, his fists clenched at his sides.

"Give it back, tadpole."

The other mutant also got to his feet.

"Come and get it," Toad challenged.

Toad however didn't know what Pyro's power was, only his name. He lit the lighter and waved it in front of his face, tauntingly. Pyro smirked as suddenly a small fireball went off causing Toad to fly backwards and drop the lighter. Pyro picked it up, wiped it off on his jacket before sitting back down.

"Now you know why my name is Pyro."

Toad glared at him as he got up but didn't retaliate cause Pyro had a fireball in his hand, just in case the other mutant made a move.

"What's so special about that thing anyway?"

Toad sat back down across from him as Pyro sighed as he looked down at it.

"A friend of mine gave it to me."

"So, where's this friend now?"

"In the past. He means nothing to me now."

"So why keep it?"

A look of surprise came over Pyro's face but he didn't have an answer. The truth was, despite trying to forget all about them Pyro thought about the school often. How could he not, as it had been his home for four years. And when he thought about the school, the thoughts inevitably went to his former best friend and roommate. As Pyro just continued to play with his lighter in silence, he couldn't help but wonder what he was doing right now.

While he didn't know it, Bobby was back in their room, finishing getting dressed to start the activities of the day. Bobby glanced at the other bed in the room for a moment when suddenly his cell-phone rang. He quickly dug into his pocket to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Bobby?" The other voice said. It belonged to his mother, Madeline Drake.

"Mom," he smiled.

"How have you been?" She asked.

"Fine," he answered. "What about you guys?"

"We've been busy getting things back to normal around here."

Bobby nodded, he certainly knew the feeling.

"So, why don't you come up here for a visit?" His mother then suggested.

"You want me to come visit?" Bobby then smiled. "You still want me around?"

"Of course," Madeline said. "You're still our son, we told you that."

Taking a deep, relieved breath, Bobby began to rub his forehead when his mother spoke again.

"And now that there's a cure, everything will go back to the way things use to be."

He was now confused.

"What?"

"A cure. You must have heard about it. They've discovered a cure for mutation."

"Yeah, I know about it."

"Well, that's great isn't it?" Madeline asked.

"You think I'm going to take the cure?" Bobby then realized. His eyes then lowered in disappointment. So that was the reason why she had finally returned his calls. He didn't want to think about the fact that her call had soon after the cure's announcement on the news, he wanted to think it was just a coincidence. But it hadn't been. His mother and likely his father too, wanted him to take the cure.

There was silence between the two of them for a few more moments before Madeline finally asked;

"Aren't you going to take it?"

Bobby didn't answer as he hung up the phone, then turned it off before putting it down on the nightstand. He then took a deep breath as he got up and looked over at the computer that was in the corner of the room. Beside it sat a picture of himself and his family. Bobby lowered his head, as finally he had to accept that his real family now was right here in this school.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Pulling up next to the curb, a Rolls Royce parked outside the Rao Laboratories building with Hank in the drivers seat and the Professor and Kitty Pryde in the back. Hank smiled as he looked back at Xavier.

"This reminds me of the early days, Professor. When I use to drive you and Erik everywhere, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Xavier responded.

Kitty then looked over at her teacher.

"Professor, I'm nervous."

"Everything will be okay Kathrine, I promise. I wouldn't put you into harm's way."

Hank placed a fedora hat on his head, along with a pair of black sunglasses. He also was wearing a large trench coat.

"Remember Kitty, just stay at my side and nothing will happen, okay?"

Kitty nodded.

"Okay."

"Alright," Hank smiled. "Let's go."

He then looked back at the Professor.

"Wait here."

Xavier gave him a look as Hank and Kitty exited the car and quickly moved ahead until they reached the alleyway of the east side of the building. They stood side-by-side as they stared ahead at the wall of the building in front of them.

"Anything I should know?" Hank asked.

"Nope," Kitty replied. "Just walk forward."

Hank nodded as he took Kitty's hand and slowly, methodically, they phased right through the wall and inside the building. A strange jolt went through his body as he passed through but when he realized they were both now in, Hank quickly looked around and saw that they were in a bathroom with several stalls that luckily were empty.

"So far so good…"

They approached the bathroom door and were about to go through it but she stopped him.

"Wait, why don't I take a look first?" Kitty suggested.

Hank was then taken aback when Kitty phased her head out the door. After a second she pulled herself back in and looked at him.

"All clear."

Kitty then took Hank's hand again and they phased out of the bathroom. Glancing around, Hank took up and saw a sign on the ceiling that read the words, 'Main Lab' with an arrow pointing to the right.

"Come on," he directed.

They went down the hallway together and were about to turn the corner when they saw two men talking to each other coming their way, but didn't noticed them. Hank quickly swung himself around before they saw him and phased through the wall behind him with Kitty. They were now in a room with both a soda machine and vending machine in it. A table was in the center of the room and a man was sitting at it with his head down so he didn't notice them or hear them as a flat screen was mounted on the wall and was showing some sitcom. It must have been some sort of break-room for the workers. Hank motioned for Kitty to come along as they phased through the opposite wall.

They continued on, phasing into another room with a floor machine inside along with a bunch of other cleaning equipment. A 'mop room', Hank must have figured as they phased out of it and kept going in search of the main hallway.

Phasing through another door, they were back in the main hallway but Hank was now face to face with a scientist wearing a pair of glasses, and looked to be in his late thirties. His eyes widened in shock when he laid eyes on the beast.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be in here!" The scientist yelled.

Balling up his fist, Hank reached back before leveling the man with a punch, knocking him out cold. He then put his hands on Kitty's shoulders, looking the young girl in the eye. They needed to get what they were after and out of this building, now.

"Stay here."

Kitty watched with her mouth open as Hank leaped forward and ran with cat-like speed on all fours, like a true animal to the main lab. He was breathtaking to behold, beyond agile, a blur of acrobatic blue fur. Hank worked his way through the maze of equipment jumping over a couple of desks and finally entered the main lab. Hank looked widely around and continued moving along through a couple more desks until he saw a large refrigerator in the corner. Leaping over to it, he grabbed the handle, opening it to see dozens of test-tube racks inside of it which contained countless samples of the cure.

Snatching one, he placed it in his pocket before growling and running back to where he left Kitty. Hank charged forward on all fours before he was back with Kitty, taking her hand.

"Let's go Kitty!"

The two of them ran forward to the east wall and kept going, phasing through wall after wall until they were finally back outside. They ran back over to the Rolls Royce and leap inside of it.

"Are you both okay?" Xavier asked as he looked over Kitty who was breathing heavily. "Did you get what you were after?"

"That was fun," she smiled in-between breaths, causing the Professor to smile a little in return.

Hank in the meantime had started up the car and quickly drove it away from Rao Laboratories, back to Westchester. He then reached back and handed the Professor the sample of the cure. Xavier took it and began looking it over. So this is what was no doubt causing the difficulty for mutants everywhere.


	6. Angel's Cure

XXXXXXXXX

Dr. Kavita Rao and her staff were getting ready inside of the exam room of the Worthington building. Warren Senior was standing by the window, watching the cityscape as a technician then called from the far side of the room;

"Mr. Worthington sir, he's arrived."

Worthington nodded.

"Good. Bring him in."

Kavita walked over and lightly touched his arm.

"Are you sure you want to start with him?"

"I think it's important, yes."

She went off to prepare for the procedure as two orderlies brought Warren into the room. Warren seemed a little nervous as he looked around before his eyes settled on his father.

"Hello, Warren," Kavita greeted.

Warren nodded as his father clasped him on his shoulders.

"I'm proud of you for doing this. You know that."

The blonde mutant nodded again as he shrugged off his bulky overcoat, and then pulled his shirt over his head. A harness restrained his wings. The orderlies guide him to the restraining table, now in an upright position that will allow Warren to remain standing. Kavita approached him with a needle and syringe in hand.

"The transformation can be a little jarring."

Warren nervously swallowed.

"Dad can we…can we talk about this for a second?"

"We already talked about it, son. We agreed."

Warren squirmed as Kavita swabbed his arm with alcohol.

"It'll all be over soon," Worthington assured.

"Wait, just wait a minute!" Warren suddenly yelled.

Kavita looked up, taken slightly aback by Warren's outburst. Worthington held his hands out.

"Warren, just calm down. Relax, son."

The orderlies came towards him but Warren pushed them away.

"No…I don't want to do this."

Worthington ran over and joined the orderlies in trying to hold his son still.

"Do it quickly!" He yelled to Dr. Rao.

"No! Stop!" Warren demanded.

He struggled, breaking the harness and restraints holding him back. His father and the orderlies fly away from him, and his wings extend to their full span. It was a magnificent sight, truly inspiring to behold. Everyone in the room freezes, even his father was speechless. Warren pants and looked towards him. Finally Worthington speaks;

"It's a better life, Warren. It's what you want."

Warren shook his head, looking his father right in the eye.

"No, dad. It's what you want."

Seeing the orderlies blocking the door, Warren spun around to the glass windows and charged forward.

"Warren no!" Worthington screamed.

Warren crashed through the window, falling at first, and then flying. The people on the sidewalk look up as glass fragments explode from the side of the building. They watched in awe as an angel soared over them. Some cross themselves, others merely stare, but none of them will forget this moment. They shield their eyes as the angel disappears into the sky.

Worthington and Kavita came as close as they could to the broken window and looked out but they couldn't see where Warren had flown off to as a overwhelming feeling of regret suddenly filled the older man.

XXXXXXX

"Katherine, you did a wonderful job," Xavier smiled. "I'm very proud of you."

In the halls of the institute, the Professor was speaking with Kitty, assuring her that she did a good job in helping Henry get in and out of Rao Laboratories.

"Does this mean I get to be part of the X-Men, Professor?" The young girl asked.

Xavier laughed.

"I'll have to think about that. But for now, I believe you have some schoolwork to finish."

"Okay," Kitty sighed, playfully as always.

She went to join Jubilee in the student lounge. The other girl had her arms folded over her chest, looking a little jealous.

"How did you get a mission before me?"

"Because I'm so awesome."

Jubilee rolled her eyes.

"Awesome...and annoying."

Kitty gaped at her.

"You are calling me annoying?"

"That's right! Annoying!"

The girls continued bickering with one another which Logan tried his best to ignore as he searched the school for the X-Men to start a training session for the day. He finally found Rogue sitting in the kitchen...and she had one of his beers opened up and in front of her.

"Hey. That's mine."

"What are you going to do? Gut me?" Rogue challenged while taking a sip.

Logan walked in and snatched it from her. He stared at her for a moment before looking at the bottle.

"A little early to start drinking, don't you think?" Logan questioned as he wiped off the top before drinking the rest for himself. Rogue watched him down the beer before shaking her head.

"How can you drink that? It's disgusting."

Logan placed the beer bottle on the kitchen island.

"Come on, we have a Danger Room session."

"No," Rogue shook her head. "I'm not training today."

"Why not?"

"I'm just not in the mood, alright?"

She walked past him and headed for the elevator.

"Rogue! Hold on!" Logan yelled out as he went after her.

"What Logan? What do you want from me?" She asked, clearly upset.

"Okay, what's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing…I'm just really confused right now, okay."

"About what?"

"About everything, I just need to be alone right now."

"It's the cure isn't it?" Logan asked.

No answer came to his reply. Rogue just gave him a fake smile and turned back around, heading to the elevator. Logan sighed heavily as the doors closed and Rogue was taken up to the second floor. Turning back around, Logan headed to the staircase to find Bobby sitting on the bottom stair, looking a little depressed. Raising an eyebrow, he stared down at the teenager as a bad feeling ran through him.

"Let me guess, you want to train either?"

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not," Bobby answered, his voice quiet.

"Something wrong?"

Bobby smiled a little as he got to his feet.

"A lot of things."

He then got to his feet and headed back up the stairs. Logan watched him as Kurt and Pitor came down the hall, making their way towards him.

"Logan, have you found the others?" Kurt questioned.

Logan shook his head.

"Forget it. Rogue and Bobby don't want to train."

"Why not?"

"The cure," Logan sighed. "It's tearing this whole team apart."

Logan then left the two of them to themselves. Pitor then looked at Kurt.

"Have you been thinking about it?" The large Russian asked.

"A little," Kurt admitted. "I've wondered how it would effect my appearance."

He then held up his three-fingered hand and moved his tail around. Pitor shrugged.

"I'm sure it would cure everything."

"It would be nice, being able to look like everyone else." But then Kurt remembered the words of Mystique back when they had set up camp and he had spoken with her. "But we shouldn't have to."

"No," Pitor agreed. "You shouldn't."

Suddenly, they heard a knocking at the front door. Pitor walked over and slowly opened it to reveal a blonde teenage wearing a bulky overcoat standing before him. 

XXXXXXXXXX

The infirmary of the school held a lot of scientific equipment was located in the area which Hank was currently using to examine the mutant cure. Hank stood looking through a microscope down at a slide which contained a small drop of the cure. After a few more seconds, Hank backed away and picked up a syringe, which he was about to inject into his arm to get a blood sample when he suddenly sensed someone by the entrance.

"Hello, Logan."

Logan folded his arms as he watched the other mutant work.

"Where have you been?" He asked.

"I snuck into Rao Labs."

"Really?" Logan raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat impressed.

"You're not the only one with animal instincts. Although I'm sure you've already guessed that."

Logan then noticed the test tube that was laying on the table. After seeing that it was filled with a glowing purple liquid he looked at the other mutant coldly.

"What is that?"

He didn't even have to ask. He knew what it was.

"It's nothing that may interest you," Hank responded, not even bothering to look at Logan as he just continued on with his exam.

"Why did you bring that here?" Logan snapped.

"I need to examine it to see if it truly works."

"You too huh?"

Logan walked further into the room.

"You know I'm a little sick of hearing everyone complaining about this and that of being a mutant. So you think you have a disease too?"

Hank shook his head.

"You have no idea what it's like...to be chased for simply trying to cross a street. Or having problems just…touching a woman. I'm a human being Logan, I have the right-"

"No, you're not," Logan almost laughed. "I think you of all people should know that. Do you know how hard some of the kids around here are taking this? What kind of example do you think you'll set for them if they see someone like you take it?"

"I honesty don't know. Please just leave me alone."

Suddenly, Logan went straight for the tube but Hank grabbed him and forcefully pushed him against the wall.

"Logan, don't try it-" He warned.

"If you don't throw that shit down the drainpipe, I'll make you."

Xavier and Ororo were making their way down the hall of the sub-complex when they suddenly heard the sound of glass breaking and equipment falling to the floor, coming from the infirmary. They both looked at each other for a moment before continuing their way-

BANG!

Logan and Hank crashed through the door and into the hallway, throwing punches at each other.

"Enough!" Xavier shouted.

The two pulled away from each other, both glaring at one another while taking deep breaths.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Ororo demanded.

"He tried to throw away the sample of cure I took," Hank replied, continuing to glare at Logan.

"You stole a sample of the cure?"

"I needed to know if it really worked."

"And does it?"

"On principal yes…but I can't be one hundred percent sure until it's tested on a mutant."

"And how are you going to do that?" Logan sarcastically asked.

Hank ignored the question as Ororo came over to help him up.

"Hank, I know what you've went through over the years, but surely you aren't thinking about-"

"I need to finish my exam. If I could please just have some more time...alone."

Xavier nodded.

"Very well, Henry."

Hank was about to turn away but looked one last time towards Logan.

"You're a mutant," Logan said, looking Hank right in the eye. "Try not to forget, okay?"

The two continued to stare at each other for a few more moments before Hank finally turned away and headed back inside the infirmary. Xavier and Ororo were heading back to the foyer of the mansion, Ororo shook her head as she couldn't get over Logan and Hank's behavior towards each other.

"I can't believe those two."

"Well, this cure has been hard on everyone." 

Just then, Kurt approached them with Warren Worthington III at his side.

"Professor, this young man just arrived."

"Hello," Ororo greeted.

"Hi. I'm sorry to intrude, but I heard this was a safe place for mutants."

"Yes it is," Xavier confirmed. "What is your name?"

"Warren Worthington."

Xavier raised an eyebrow.

"Worthington? Then your father-"

"Yeah."

Warren hung his head, disgusted.

"Because of me."

Ororo approached him closer and reached out to touch his arm, trying to comfort him.

"Not because of you, Warren. It's not your fault." She then looked back at Kurt. "Could you show Warren a room?"

"Certainly."

Warren followed Kurt down the hall as he led him to a room he could stay in. They made their way up the stairs and they soon arrived at a room. He opened the door and Warren walked inside.

"You can stay in here. I know it's a little empty-"

"It's perfect," Warren smiled.

Warren then removed his overcoat and expanded his wings. Despite himself, Kurt gasped.

"Oh my."

Warren turned back around.

"Oh, sorry."

"You're an archangel," Kurt said, now looking at the young man in wide-eyed amazement.

Warren however looked back at Kurt and raised a brow in confusion.

"Uh…what are you-"

Kurt approached him.

"Which archangel are you? Are you Michael, or Raphael? Or could you be Gabriel?"

"My name is Warren. I'm not an archangel."

"Of course you are. You have angel wings."

"It's my mutation. I'm only a mutant, not an archangel."

"Oh." Kurt now looked disappointed as Warren shifted on his feet and a uncomfortable silence followed. Kurt finally looked back up and smiled a little. "You have an amazing gift, Warren."

Warren smiled back.

"Thank you."

Kurt then left him to himself. Warren walked over and sat down on the bed, the smile still across his face. Despite being here for only a few minutes, Warren felt more welcome and more at home here more than he ever had at his father's penthouse in the city.


	7. Fire, Ice, and Flesh

XXXXXXXXX

That night inside the Hilton hotel An attractive young, blonde woman walked into the hotel room and as she closed the door behind her, the appearance went away as Mystique became her blue, scaled form and headed over to the television where Magneto, Pyro, Sabretooth and Toad had gathered to watch a reporter doing a broadcast about the cure.

"History will be made here tomorrow morning. For the first time ever, the so called mutant cure, being referred to as 'hope' will be made available to the public. As we've seen since the announcement, reactions have been mixed. Some mutants are desperate for the cure while others are insulted by the mere idea of it."

Magneto muted the television and turned to Pyro.

"Tomorrow you will raze Rao Laboratories to the ground. You will prevent any mutant from this cure being used against them."

"I'll be going alone?"

Magneto noticed his reluctance and narrowed his eyes.

"Are you a god...or an insect?"

Sabretooth snorted.

"Never send a boy to do a man's job."

Toad laughed which caused Pyro to glare at him and Sabretooth both. However, the larger mutant returned it which a much more scarier look.

"Don't eyeball me, boy."

Pyro looked away from him and stared back at Magneto.

"I'll do it."

Magneto nodded as he turned the volume to the television back on and the Brotherhood continued to listen to the reporter.

"From what we've gathered, Rao Labs is planning on opening their doors to the public as early as nine o'clock..."

The following morning, wearing black gloves and her green hooded cloak, Rogue was standing by the front door and she had finally come to a conclusion though deep down it was still bothering her. She had been up all night, going through the scenario, the situation she now found herself in. But still, a lingering question went through her mind that she couldn't answer herself. If she did take the cure, would she still be allowed to stay here? Would she have to leave if she were no longer a mutant? This was her home now, they had taken her in off the streets and become her family. Before this, Rogue had begun to think she had found her purpose in life in being apart of the X-Men.

She could use her 'gift' to help people, but now the cure had offered her an option that she had never thought would come along. Rogue took a deep breath as she slowly put her hand on the doorknob when suddenly a voice stopped her;

"Where you headed, kiddo?"

She froze. Rogue didn't want to turn around, she was to an extent ashamed to reveal her decision. Finally, she turned to face Logan. She didn't say anything but she didn't have to, Logan already knew where she was going.

"I hope your not doing this for some boy," he sighed.

"No…it's not that. I've tried to deal with this, but I can't ignore what could be my only chance at a normal life. You don't know what it's like to be afraid of your powers, to get close to anyone."

"Yeah, I do," Logan assured. "But if I told you I know exactly what you're going through I'd be lying. I honestly don't know what I'd do if I was in your position."

"I know you don't approve, and it's a bad example to set for other mutants, but-"

"Hey, I'm not your father."

Rogue then smiled at Logan.

"I'm your friend," Logan returned the smile. "If you wanna go, go. Just be sure that it's what you want. And I'll still be here for you, whatever you decide."

"Be careful, Rogue."

They let go of each other.

"Marie," she said, remembering how they told each other their real names, back in Logan's pick-up truck. It seemed like ages ago. So much had happened since.

He nodded, he remembered too.

"Marie."

Logan turned away and Rogue continued her way out.

On the second floor of the mansion, Bobby walked out of his bedroom fully dressed after just waking up. He headed down the hall until he reached Rogue's room and stopped to see the door open. Bobby slowly headed in and sat down on the bed, feeling sadness build up in him. He wondered if Rogue was feeling the same way too. 

As he stared at the floor, Pitor walked by and saw Bobby inside.

"Hey."

Bobby looked up when he heard the voice.

"Storm wants to see us. Where's Rogue? I've been looking everywhere for her."

"She must have left," Bobby shrugged.

"Oh…you don't think?" Pitor began.

He stared at the other boy.

"What?"

"Rao Labs just started releasing the cure to the public."

"No…she wouldn't," Bobby shook his head as he got to his feet. He quickly walked past Pitor. "Tell Storm I had to go."

As fast as he could, Bobby sprinted down the stairs and out of the school, hoping he could get to his girlfriend in time before she ended up doing something she might end up regretting.

Downtown, a large crowd formed on the opposite side of Rao Laboratories. Security stood in front of the building as a line of mutants had lined up for when they finally opened their doors to make the hope serum available. A bus then stopped a short way from the laboratory and Rogue stepped off along with several others. She walked down the sidewalk until reaching the line and stood in the back of it. As she continued to wait, all the people Rogue had touched began to run through her mind; David, Logan, Magneto, Bobby, John, Storm. She then looked across the street at the group of mutants who were there to protest against the cure.

They began to chant;

"We don't need a cure! We don't need a cure! We don't need a cure! We don't need a cure!"

Rogue stared down at her feet as she continued to wait.

XXXXXXXX

Minutes went by as slowly but surely mutants began to file their way into the laboratory. While it continued, Bobby got out of a taxi he had managed to flag down and quickly made his way through the crowd.

"Rogue!" He shouted while continuing to push his way through people and looking around widely before he bumped into someone very familiar. His former best friend, John was now standing before him, the trademark smirk Bobby knew all too well was plastered across his face.

"Taking the cure so you can go home to mommy and daddy?" Pyro sneered.

"John," Bobby replied, still somewhat in shock to be seeing him right now.

Pyro shook his head.

"I gave up that name months ago."

"Why'd you do it?" Bobby asked, it was the question he had on his mind ever sense he heard the news of him leaving with Magneto.

"Do what?"

"Why did you go with Magneto? Come back with me to the school, you still can."

"It's a prison. People always telling me what I can and can't do, how to be. Who to be." Pyro formed a fireball from the wrist lighter Magneto designed for him, leveling the flame. He took a step forward, and Bobby steadied, forcing a stare. "This is who I am."

He snapped his palm shut and the flame disappeared for a second. Then it was there again, the fire incredible this time, and Bobby watched, nearly dumbstruck, as strangers cried out, pushing and stumbling to get by. Pyro laughed as he handled the growing blaze with the skill and poise of an experienced juggler.

"Come on, Iceman. Make a move," He dared.

Bobby just shook his head, a look of disappointment clear on his face as he turned away from him and continued his search for Rogue. He finally spotted her at the end of the line.

"Rogue!"

Rogue looked over when she heard his voice.

"Bobby! What are you doing here?"

"I don't want you to do this, we can find another way."

"I told you that I'm not doing this for you," Rogue nearly snapped at him in frustration. "And there is no other way."

Before either one could say another word, Pyro unleashed a large stream of flame at the laboratory. The building exploded on impact and immediately caught fire as the mutants lined up screamed and began to run away, as did the protestors that Pyro had stood among. Rogue screamed when she saw what had happened.

"No! I have to get in there!"

She ran forward but Bobby grabbed her and held her back.

"It's too late, Rogue!"

"No!"

Meanwhile, several cops who saw Pyro ran over towards him but were immediately engulfed in flame. Bobby pulled away from Rogue and ran over to where Pyro was standing. Pyro smirked and prepared himself by lighting another fireball while Bobby got himself ready, he had no choice now.

"What the hell do you think you're doing John!?"

"My name is Pyro."

Pyro shot a stream of fire at him but Bobby used ice to shield himself from it.

"Are you still afraid of a fight?"

Firing another steam of fire he concentrated, weaving it around Iceman before it blew him a good few feet back until his back slammed into the side of a parked car. Iceman coughed as he wiped away a small amount of blood that trickled from his mouth, eyes narrowing as he clenched his fist so hard it began to turn blue. Getting to his feet, he stalked his way back over towards Pyro.

"You want to do this, we'll do it."

Iceman quickly shot a stream of ice at Pyro which nailed him in the chest, knocking him off his feet. However, Pyro only smirked as he got back up.

"You're in over your head, Bobby. Maybe you should go back to school."

"You never should have left."

Pyro didn't respond as he then sent a line of fire straight at his former best friend. Iceman retaliated with ice and the two powers collided. Both pushed each other back and forth, trying to get leverage. People on the street who hadn't ran away watched the fight in awe. Finally, Pyro pushed forward and used more strength to get the advantage. Pyro continued to engulf Iceman in flames as he fell to his knees, barely able to hold them back. After a few more moments, Pyro pulled away and Iceman collapsed to the ground, weakened.

He raised his hands to finish his former friend off, but as Pyro watched Iceman crawling, trying to get back up, he hesitated. Pyro then heard the sounds of sirens coming. He looked down at Iceman one last time before kicking him in the ribs, causing him to gasp in pain, sending him sideways into the fetal position. Pyro then turned and took off running away from the burning laboratory as fast as he could.

Taking a deep breath, Iceman pushed himself back up to his feet and saw that his former friend was gone as more cop cars made their way towards the burning lab. He ran over to where Rogue last was but when he got there, she was gone too.

"Rogue!" He yelled while frantically looking around for her. "Where are you! Rogue!"

Bobby himself moved away from the building as the cop cars pulled up outside the lab. The young mutant continued looking around for his girlfriend in frustration, but she was no where in sight.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gasping for air when he finally stopped running, Pyro dropped down to one knee trying to get oxygen back into his lungs. His legs were dead and there was a slight pain in his right side. After about a minute, he pulled himself back up and noticed he was in the Westchester Park District. He was still nervous and needed to get back to the hotel as he could still hear the sirens in the distance. Suddenly something slammed into him from behind. He stumbled forward, almost knocked off his feet and quickly turned around, ready to launch a fireball at whoever it was, but to his shock, it was Rogue who was coming straight at him.

"You bastard!"

She shouted while swinging her hands widely, hitting him wherever she possibly could.

"You destroyed my chance of being normal again!"

Pyro finally regained his composure long enough to grab Rogue's wrists in his hands, stopping her from hitting him.

"So you're the reason Bobby was there. I should have figured you'd want the cure." Pyro looked her up and down as she thrashed in his grip. "You're pathetic."

Rogue suddenly went still in Pyro's grip after he said that and the look of rage her face had was replaced by a look of hurt.

"I'm not pathetic for wanting a normal life."

"Newsflash, Rogue. You're not normal."

Pyro then let her go and Rogue rubbed her arm.

"I thought I knew you," she said as she watched him. "I always knew that your were a rebel John, but I'd never guess that you'd join Magneto."

"You never knew me," Pyro snapped. "You haven't been through what I have."

"You think you're the one who's been through something?" Rogue incredulously responded. "So you're gonna cause harm for others, and why? Because you're angry?"

"Are you even gonna try to understand?"

"What's to understand? I saw the reports of what happened at Alcatraz. You killed people didn't you?"

"I don't know...maybe." Pyro then flexed his hand into a fist as he sighed heavily. "Try to understand, please."

"You want me to understand? Turn yourself in, you can help us stop Magneto, turn him back over to the authorities. You can put things right…"

She hoped to get through to him but Pyro only shook his head.

"Things aren't ever going to be right again, Rogue. The battle lines are drawn, we're both going to have to live with it, like it or not."

Pyro then grabbed Rogue's hand. She gasped as he placed his shark lighter in her hand.

"Give this to Bobby. Tell him I don't need it anymore."

He then turned and ran off. Rogue watched him until he was finally out of sight before looking down at the shark zippo lighter John placed in her hand. She was a little confused as she turned the object over in her hand. The lighter must of had a lot more meaning than she knew.


	8. The Church of Magneto

XXXXXXXXX

Professor X, Ororo, and Kurt were together in the study as a news broadcast cut to a tape sent to them by a 'mutant terrorist'. Xavier's eyes narrowed as he now stared at the face of his old friend. Magneto began speaking to the nation.

"Today's attack on Rao Laboratories will be the first of many. As long as this cure, this so called 'hope' exists, your cities will not be safe, your streets will not be safe...you will not be safe."

Ororo and Kurt looked at each other as Magneto continued "And to my fellow mutants, I will bring you true hope. And I ask for only one thing of those who would oppose…don't get in my way. Enough mutant blood has been spilt already." 

The transmission ends abruptly.

"Things are getting worse," Xavier spoke.

"What are we going to do?" Ororo asked.

Xavier sighed heavily.

"We have to wait."

Ororo and Kurt left the study, walking side by side down the hall with students among them.

"In these times, prayer is needed," Kurt spoke up. "I'm heading to a church nearby tonight. Would you like to join me, Miss Storm?"

Ororo smiled.

"That sounds nice, Kurt. Once all the kids are asleep, we'll go."

Kurt smiled. It was a nice smile, once you got past the pointy teeth.

"I'll see you then."

Back at the Worthington building in Manhattan, Worthington was on the phone with his housekeeper who took care of things in property he owned in Canada. He was still on a desperate search to find his son. He wasn't at the penthouse in the city, he wasn't at the house they owned in California, and he soon found out that no one at property they owned in Canada had seen him either. Worthington hung up the phone just as Kavita walked in.

"Any luck?" She asked.

He shook his head as he took a deep breath and wrung his hands.

"My son's gone. Your lab has been destroyed. And what happened at Alcatraz, this whole thing has gotten so far out of hand…everything's happening so quickly." He then looked up at Kavita. "I think I've made a terrible mistake, Kavita."

"This cure is a good thing, Warren," Kavita said, trying to reassure him. "There are mutants out there who need it."

"But it wasn't supposed to be like this."

"You can't blame yourself."

Worthington stood up and went over to the window.

"Change always happens slowly. You'll see. One day we will be remembered as the ones who came up with the solution for this mutant problem."

Worthington slumps, just a little as he placed his hands on the glass.

"I just want my son back."

XXXXXXXXXX

BAMF!

Later that night, Kurt teleported himself and Ororo to a abandoned church he discovered soon after he came to live at the mansion and went there from time to time. When the smoke of his teleportation cleared, the two of them walked towards the church.

"Thank you for accompanying me, Miss Storm," Kurt said.

"It's my pleasure. And you can call me Ororo."

"Yes, Ororo."

They smiled at each other, but as they got closer they could hear voices from inside. And the words 'Mutants Against the Cure' was painted on the outside wall.

"What's going on?" Ororo asked.

"I don't know. This church is always empty when I come."

"Let's go in."

Ororo opened the door and the two of them stepped inside to see a gathering of mutants, at least a hundred in number. Standing on a stage in front of all of them all was Callisto, a woman with a patch over her left eye and wearing a torn army jacket with cargo pants. She tried to silence the din.

"People, listen! This is about getting organized! We have to band together, show the whole world that we mean business!"

A mutant standing in the far right shouts;

"Why should we care about getting organized, Callisto?"

Arclight, a Dominican female mutant who was standing on the stage with Callisto shouts back;

"They want to exterminate us!"

A random mutant sitting in the front row responds;

"This cure is voluntary, Arclight. No one is talking about extermination!"

"No one ever talks about it!" A voice yelled out.

Suddenly, Magneto stood up, dressed in a ratty black sweater and cape. Mystique, Pyro, Sabretooth, and Toad were also with him.

"They just do it," Magneto finished.

Ororo's eyes widened in shock when she saw The Brotherhood and she quickly grabbed a hold of the sleeve of Kurt's jacket, pulling him over to sit on a bench so they would be hidden by the other mutants who were standing. Meanwhile, Magneto walked to the front of the room, taking the stage as the church got silent. He continued on;

"By all means, go about your lives. Ignore all of the many signs around you. Then they'll come for you, and the rest of us will be better off without you. And then you will realize, that while you sat here prattling on about committees and organizations and DMAs, the extermination had already begun."

Magneto stares intensely into the audience as they all watched him in silence.

They wish to cure us…but I say to you that we are the cure. Make no mistake, my brothers, the humans will use this poison against us. And when the air is still, and the night has fallen, there's only one question you must answer. Who will you stand with? Will you stand and fight? Or wait for the inevitable genocide? Choose now and choose wisely. This is the beginning of the end, and your choice will make all the difference."

He strides off as quickly and suddenly as he began. In no time at all, Caliban, an albino-like mutant with no hair or eyebrows was at his and the Brotherhood's heels.

"You talk pretty tough for an old geezer in a cape."

Pyro turned to him and formed a fireball in his hand.

"Back off," he warned.

Caliban stared at his hand for a moment before Pyro extinguished it. By this time, Callisto, Arclight, and Spyke, a black male mutant whose face and upper body was covered by armadillo-type bone plates had walked over to them as well.

"You're so proud of being a mutant, where's your mark?" Callisto asked.

"I've already been marked once, my dear." Magneto pulled up his sleeve to show his serial number from Auschwitz. "Let me assure you, no needle with ever touch my skin again."

"You punks know who you're talking to?" Toad asked.

Spyke's face and arms suddenly spiked up with sharp, protruding bones.

"Do you?"

Toad smirked in his face, unimpressed.

"Relax, Spyke," Callisto ordered, not wanting a confrontation between the two groups.

Ororo and Kurt continued watching the exchange with the rest of the mutants who hadn't moved. She then whispered to Kurt;

"We have to do something."

Ororo began to get up but Kurt stopped her and shook his head.

"Not in the house of god."

Meanwhile the conversation between Magneto and Callisto continued.

"You know who I am?" Magneto inquired.

"Of course. I defy any mutant in here that doesn't," Callisto responded.

"And who might you all be?"

"We call ourselves 'Morlocks'."

Magneto cocked his head.

"You named yourselves after the subterranean creatures from The Time Machine novel?"

"That's right. We're outcasts. A lot of us can't pass for human so we stay underground. There are tunnels beneath New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, built by the government in the 1950's as shelters in case of a national emergency," Callisto informed him. "Most of the public don't even know these tunnels exist. Caliban here helps me find mutants who rebel against society."

Magneto looked to Caliban.

"And how do you do that?"

"It's my power," Caliban explained. "I know that you control metal..."

He then looked to Mystique, Pyro, and Toad.

"And that you're a shape-shifter, you control fire, and you have all the enhanced abilities of a toad."

Magneto responds, politely bored.

"So you have talents."

He began to turn away but Caliban continued.

"That and more. I can tell you how many mutants are on this block. In this city." He smiled as he saw that Magneto was becoming more intrigued. "This state."

"You can sense other mutants and their powers?"

Caliban nodded.

"Could you locate one for me?" Magneto asked.

Ororo finally grabbed a hold of Kurt.

"Get us out of here."

BAMF!

The others mutants who were around them looked to see the blue puff of smoke slowly dissipate. Magneto too heard the noise but didn't see anything.

XXXXXXXXX

Once Kurt got them back to the mansion, Ororo quickly found the Professor and was currently telling Xavier and Logan what she had seen involving Magneto and the mutants from the church.

"Apparently this guy can locate any other mutant on the planet," Ororo explained. "Like a living Cerebro."

"I wonder who Magneto wanted located," Logan spoke.

"Maybe I can help you with that."

They all turned their heads when they heard the voice and saw Hank step into the room. Logan raised an eyebrow.

"Still a mutant, I see."

"Yes."

Logan was happy about that. Hank had a file in hand that he put on the desk. Opening it up, he turned a few pages until he reached a picture of a young green-skinned mutant child.

"Do any of you know this young man?"

After glancing at the photo, Xavier and Ororo looked at each other.

"That's Jimmy," Ororo stated.

"Who?"

"James Hawking," Xavier clarified. "He was a student here up until a few months ago when his father pulled him out for unknown reasons."

"Well, this young mutant's DNA is the source of the cure. I have a feeling he is the one Magneto is after."

"What's Magneto gonna do with him?" Logan asked.

"I'm not sure…kill him maybe," Hank speculated. "He's being kept at the Worthington building here in New York. And he and everyone else working there is in mortal danger if Magneto does decide to attack that building."

"Then we have to rescue him," Xavier stated.

Logan shook his head.

"Wait a minute. Should we really do that?"

They all looked at Logan as he continued;

"Should we really stop Magneto from destroying the cure? Isn't that what we want too?"

"If you recall, I was never happy about a cure for mutation being released," Ororo said while shaking her head. "But we can't let Magneto continue to kill innocent people, especially a child."

Hank nodded.

"The President has given me a job on his cabinet. He's offered an olive branch to the mutant community. All of the destruction Magneto has caused could undo that."

"Yes," Xavier agreed. "If we stand by and do nothing, than the war that Erik has been trying to start may become a reality."

"So we have to get to the Worthington building before Magneto does," Logan stated.

As Logan said that, a figure appears from behind the doorway. It was Warren and he had overheard what they had discussed.

"I have to go with you guys!"

Warren ran into the room and all the adults turned to him.

"How much of that do you hear?" Ororo asked.

"Enough. My dad is going to be at the center of whatever Magneto has in store. I can't let him hurt my dad."

"Kid, you have no idea what you're in for out there, and you aren't trained. We can't risk it," Logan said.

Ororo nodded.

"For once I agree with Logan. We cannot risk having you come with us. It's too dangerous."

"As long as I have my wings, I'll be fine."

Hank looked at Warren and saw the determination in his eyes. He then looked back at the others.

"I don't think the lad's going to budge." He turned back to Warren. "Am I right?"

"Listen, I can go with you guys, or go myself. If you haven't noticed, I can fly myself over there you know. My dad might not have done the most responsible thing but he's still my dad, and I'm not just going to sit here and let something happen to him."

Logan, Xavier, Ororo, and Hank all looked at each other for a moment. Finally, Ororo spoke.

"Hank, get Warren a suit. He'll need one."

Warren smiled as Hank led him out of the office. Ororo then turned to Logan.

"Logan, get the others down here."

The team headed down to the sub-complex of the mansion. Wolverine and Beast were in the dressing room, changing into their uniforms. Beast pulled on his old X-Men jacket snugly.

"I can't believe this used to fit me."

Wolverine chuckled as they walked out into the hall, meeting up with Storm, Nightcrawler, Iceman, Colossus, and Warren. He then looked around and noticed that someone was missing.

"As anyone seen Rogue?"

They all shook their heads, Iceman's eyes lowered to the ground. Wolverine frowned as Colossus looked towards Warren.

"We all have code-names," the metal mutant stated. "What do we call you when we're out there?"

Warren smiled and looked to Nightcrawler.

"Archangel."

Wolverine cocked his head.

"Well, I've heard worse." Wolverine then glanced over at Iceman who gave him a look of incredulance in response.

Storm then addressed the team.

"All right, everyone, listen up. You're not all the most experienced, and I'm giving you this chance to back out now. This isn't going to be like the Danger Room, we might not all make it back. Can you handle that?"

"We're not kids anymore, Iceman stated. "We know what's at stake here."

Colossus nodded.

"We're ready."

A voice then said;

"So am I."

They all looked over when they heard that and Rogue came around the corner, having a uniform on just like they all did. Wolverine smiled when he saw her as did Iceman.

"All right. We're in this together. X-Men, all of us."

They all nodded in agreement.

"Let's move out," Wolverine finished, leading them into the hangar and they all walked up the ramp and onto the jet. Taking their seats, Rogue and Iceman looked at each other, both clearly scared out of their minds. Storm took the pilot's seat, Beast next to her.

"Everyone ready?" Beast asked while putting his seatbelt on.

"As we'll ever be," Rogue said.

Beast started up the jet.

"Alright. Let's see if this thing is as fast as I remember."


	9. Battling for the Cure

XXXXXXXX

Horns were blaring at each other on the packed highway of the upper east side of 54th Street Manhattan that night. Drivers leaned out their windows, craning their necks to see ahead where two cars have collided. A cop stood between two drivers who looked ready to tear each other's throats out.

"Just calm down," the cop ordered. "We'll get all this reported, then we'll-"

"This dumb bastard should have been watching where he was going!" The first driver yelled.

"You shouldn't have been riding my ass!" The second driver screamed back.

A groaning then takes the air. The cop stares down the street as the drivers stop honking. They eyed on another, confused. Suddenly, several cars are levitated high into the air before crashing back down onto other parked cars. At the end of the street, Magneto led Mystique, Pyro, Toad, Sabretooth, Callisto, Arclight, Caliban, and Spyke with his hands outstretched. He magnetically parts the build up of cars, sending them crashing to either side of the road, slamming them into buildings. They kept walking until they reached a skyscraper that was thirty stories tall with twenty-six full floors.

The words 'Worthington Industries' was printed on the front of it. Magneto eyed the building for a moment before turning to Caliban.

"You're sure the boy is still inside?"

"Positive. He's in the southeast corner of the tenth floor."

"This is where it ends. Pyro?"

Pyro looked to him.

"Find the boy," Magneto ordered. "And kill him."

Pyro swallowed nervously before nodding and heading towards the building.

Magneto then looked to Mystique.

"Mystique, find and kill Dr. Rao."

"My pleasure."

She too began heading inside to find her target. Magneto then looked to the others.

"The rest of you, stay out here. I have a feeling we'll have company soon."

Several police cars then began speeding towards the Brotherhood and the Morlocks. Magneto scoffed as he raised his hand and sent them all flying backwards. Other police officers on foot began firing at them but Spyke took them out with sharp bone projectiles. Callisto used her extensive martial arts skills to take on three of the police officers at once, dropping them one by one with vicious kicks. Sabretooth took to ripping anyone who got to close apart.

Worthington watched from the window down at the carnage below as Kavita came into the room and walked over to his side.

"They're coming after us."

Kavita looked to the sky and saw the X-Jet.

"What is that?"

The X-Jet then landed on the roof of a building opposite of Worthington Industries.

After a few moments, lightning suddenly lights up the sky as Storm flies down from the roof. Beast follows her, roaring and landing like a true animal. Iceman forms an ice slide under his feet and hangs onto Rogue's waist as together they go down it. Nightcrawler teleports himself down, Colossus in his metal form jumps off the room. And finally, Wolverine descends a chute, using his claws to slow his descent.

Magneto glared at them as they lined up beside each other. He then whispered to himself;

"Traitors to their own cause."

By this time, Wolverine and Sabretooth had locked eyes on each other while Toad stared at Storm with pure hatred and revenge in mind. Beast looked from side to side at his teammates.

"I'll go find the boy," Beast spoke. "I just need a clear path to get in the building."

Wolverine nodded but before they could remotely plan, Magneto lifted up two cars and sent them straight at the X-Men.

Storm flu up in the air and blasted one away with lightning while Iceman froze the other mid-air. Arclight narrowed her eyes and came forward before clapping her hands together, knocking all the X-Men off their feet with a massive shockwave. Storm who was still mid-air was the only one who wasn't hit. She flu over The Brotherhood and unleashed a tidal-wave onto them all. The massive amount of water came down and engulfed them all, temporarily taking them out as the water carried them all away from the front of the building. Callisto's head struck the ground upon impact and while the others managed to stop themselves, the tidal wave dragged her away as the water rushed furiously down the street.

Beast quickly took this opportunity to charge forward, leaping and running on all fours before crashing through the front glass doors. Spinning around while looking widely, Beast spotted the large staircase that he began sprinting up in search of the boy, as a now drenched Magneto grinded his teeth while getting back up while looking at the large metal mutant and held out his hand, freezing him in place. Colossus could do nothing as he levitated off the ground and then was sent flying backwards at a great speed.

BOOM!

He finally crashed miles away into an abandoned tanker truck that exploded on impact.

Wolverine's eyes filled with pure hatred as his claws came out from his knuckles. He ran toward Magneto while screaming with rage but Magneto simply outstretched a hand and Wolverine stopped and levitated from the ground.

"You really never learn, do you?"

Wolverine snarled.

"Against me, you're nothing!"

With a flick of the wrist, Magneto sent Wolverine flying yards away until he crashed landed in a construction site.

While Magneto had dealt with Wolverine, a still mid-air Storm starting firing lightning bolts down upon Magneto. Toad looked up and glared at Storm before running and jumping up, leaping from rooftop to rooftop until tackling her to the ground. Toad kicked Storm in the face before punching her twice.

"Remember me?"

Toad then pulled out a chain from his jacket and wrapped it around Storm's throat and began strangling her with it. Storm began choking as she could no longer get air into her lungs-

BAMF!

Nightcrawler grabbed Toad and teleported him away from Storm. Twisting in mid-air after being dropped, Toad's tongue grabbed a light pole and as Nightcrawler came back at him he launched himself at the blue mutant, tackling him through the plate glass window of a strip bar. Toad kicked Nightcrawler through a table before leaping up and coming back down, dropping a knee onto his back.

"Looks like I've got some competition," Toad smirked.

Nightcrawler teleported then wrapped his legs around Toad's head. Throwing himself backwards, he launched Toad head-over-heels right against a striper's cage that stood on an elevated platform in the center of the bar. He landed hard but got right back up and threw a roundhouse kick to Nightcrawler's head which knocked him back down. Toad tried to follow up but was hit with a punch before Nightcrawler teleported and nailed him with another punch to the other side of his face.

"Stay still!" Toad yelled in aggravation.

Nightcrawler teleported and punched him again.

"You first," Nightcrawler smirked.

Flinging out his tongue again, it wrapped around Nightcrawler's ankle and lifted him straight up. His chest collided with the ceiling before being thrown down again to the ground. Toad launched himself up in the air and was about to bring his knee down upon Nightcrawler again but he moved out of the way and came back to drop-kick Toad in the back.

BAMF!

He teleported himself again with Toad in his grasp, right into the cage, leaving him stuck inside. Upon realizing his predicament, Toad grabbed the bars and began violently shaking them.

"Hey! Get me the hell out of here!"

Nightcrawler looked at Toad while wiping some blood from his forehead.

"I'm sorry, but I wish to fight with you no more."

BAMF!

Up on the eighteenth floor, Worthington and Kavita walked briskly through the hall, looking for a way out. As they turned a corner, Wolverine appeared. Worthington and Kavita promptly turned the other way, but Wolverine yelled out;

"Wait, I'm here to help you!"

Worthington and Kavita stopped in their tracks before looking back at him

"Magneto came for you, but I can get you to safety."

Kavita approached the other man while Worthington followed, cautiously.

"Thank you," Kavita said, taking a breath of relief.

"You're the one who invented the cure, right?" Wolverine questioned.

"I am. What bearing that has on what's going on now is lost on me."

"Sure."

SNIKT!

Wolverine suddenly stabbed Kavita in the chest.

"No!" Worthington screamed.

Wolverine looked to Worthington and smirked as Mystique reverted back to herself and let Kavita's lifeless body hit the ground. Worthington turned to run but Mystique grabbed him and kicked the back of his right knee causing him to yell out in agony. Mystique grabbed the back of his suit and began dragging him along with her to the stairway.

XXXXXXXXXX

Back at the construction site, the real Wolverine slowly pulled himself back up, staggering a bit when a roar echoed throughout the area and he was suddenly grabbed and tossed into heavy machinery. Spinning around, he saw Sabretooth standing before him, a sick smile on his face. Wolverine narrowed his eyes.

"You want me so bad, bub? Here I am."

Wolverine charged at Sabretooth, stabbing him once in the mid-section before Sabretooth nailed him with a opened hand that left four nasty scratch marks on his face. He rolled backwards and snarled while the marks began to heal.

"You don't remember me, do ya runt?" Sabretooth snarled.

"I course I remember you. Liberty Island, a year and a half ago. You still sore about that?"

"I mean from before."

Wolverine looked confused so Sabretooth went on.

"Well let me refresh your memory. We were partners, you and I. We worked together for Stryker, bringing in the worst kind of people we could find. But then you left, went AWOL. Silverfox and Deadpool wouldn't even hunt you down. Left it to Omega Red and I."

"Who the hell are you talking about?"

Wolverine then tried to hit him again but Sabretooth stabbed him in the upper right shoulder. Picking him up, Sabretooth began walking forward with him as Wolverine grimaced and struggled in his grip.

"We hunted you for years. Meanwhile you did as you pleased. Getting as much money as you could for every job you did. Finally you kidnapped a former Prime Minister's daughter. That's when we finally captured you, but not before you killed Omega Red. And then you accidently killed the daughter."

Sabretooth then tossed Wolverine forward and he landed hard on the ground. Slowly lifting his head up, Wolverine glared up at the larger mutant.

"You're lying, I would have never-"

"Keep telling yourself that," Sabretooth smirked. "Kidnapping a Prime Minister's daughter was actually one of the better things you did. You did things that would make most men's stomach turn. Murders, maiming, kidnapping, robberies, arson. You did it all, Wolverine. You were the worst of the worst."

"Shut the hell up!" Wolverine screamed.

Tackling the larger mutant to the ground, Wolverine began rapidly stabbing him in the chest. Right hand, left hand, one stab after the other as Sabretooth roared in pain. Finally he got a hand up and gouged Wolverine's eyes, causing him to fall off him. Sabretooth then got up and grabbed Wolverine by the throat, picked him up and choke-slammed him through a pile of wooden pallets. Sabretooth looked down at Wolverine and spat as the other mutant struggled to recover.

"And Stryker did exactly what you wanted him to do. He wiped your memory clean and gave you a fresh start. He kept his part of the deal, you on the other hand, you know what you did."

Meanwhile in large building, Pyro walked through the halls of the tenth floor trying to find the room of the boy when several security members began running towards him. He scoffed and quickly launched a line of fire at them, taking them all out. Leech was sitting on the bed when suddenly the locked doorknob started to rattle. He gasped and hides under the bed just as the door is blown off its hinges. Pyro looked around the room until he saw the boy hiding behind the bed.

"Get up," he demanded.

When he didn't listen he formed a fireball in his hands and walked closer but it extinguished. He looked at his hand in surprise for a moment before reaching down and pulling the boy up.

"Pyro?"

Pyro looked at the young boy, stunned to see him as he remembered him from his days at the school.

"Leech?"

"Are you an X-Man now?" Leech smiled. "Can you get me out of here?"

"A lot has changed since you've been away."

Pyro roughly took Leech's arm and dragged him out of the room and into the hallway. Again, the pyromaniac tried to form a fireball but still found that he couldn't.

"What the hell is happening?"

"Your powers won't work around me, remember?" Leech reminded him.

Before he could respond, someone spoke;

"John."

Pyro spun around to see Beast coming down the hall, slowly with his hands up. Leeches' eyes widened.

"Hey! I've seen you on T.V!"

"What do you want?" Pyro snapped.

"I can't let you run away with the boy, John," Beast responded, still being cautious. "Let's talk."

"I'm not going to run away. I'm going to walk. As long as I have this brat, you're not going to do anything."

"Do you really think this is the answer, son? To threaten the life of a innocent child, a mutant like yourself because you are angry and afraid?"

"And the Professor's plan is so perfect? Make nice with humans when they want to kill us all? You know what humans do when they find out their kid is a mutant. If mutants aren't safe from their own parents, then who the hell are they safe from?"

"Obviously not fellow mutants, as Jimmy can now attest to," Beast almost scoffed. "John, we're all flawed. The humans that you speak of are no more evil for doing what they do to mutants than Magneto is for trying to do the same thing to humans."

"The humans are the bad guys, not us."

"So you'll kill any one of them? And any mutant who potentially stands in your way? Man, woman, child...doesn't matter?" Beast questioned.

"I'm not going to...damn it, you're putting words in my mouth!" Pyro yelled in clear aggravation.

He inadvertently tightened his grip on the younger mutant's arm and a cry was then was heard as Leech tried to pull away from his captor. Beast looked down at Leech for a moment before meeting Pyro's eyes again.

"John, please just let Jimmy go. You know you don't want to hurt him."

Pyro looked down at Leech. Brown eyes met tear-filled yellow ones.

"Let me go?" He begged. "Please?"

The two continued to stare at each other with unblinking eyes. Then the older boy's façade finally cracked. He let go of Leech's arm who then ran to Beast's side. Pyro stared at his feet for a moment, looking a little unsure if he just made the right decision. He then met the stare of his former teacher.

"What are you doing, John?" Beast asked, wondering if maybe John was thinking about possibly coming back with them.

"Consider this my last favor for the X-Men."

Beast nodded. He would have liked for John to come with them too, but decided not to push his luck.

"I'm grateful."

He then took Leech by the hand and led him down the hall while Pyro watched them until they turned the corner and were out of sight. They ran to the elevator and Beast pressed the button to take them back down to the lobby. When the silver doors closed, Beast gasped when he saw himself staring at his normal face, his normal appearance. Beast looked down at his hand that was still grasped with Leeches' and saw that his hand was normal looking as well.

"Sorry," Leech apologized. "Most of the time I can't-"

"No, no it's alright," Beast assured.

With his other hand, which was still covered in blue fur, he touched his cheek as he smiled to himself. It had been so long since he had seen his normal face. But after a few more moments, he finally snapped out of his trance.

"Just stay by my side. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Will you take me back to Xavier's?" Leech asked.

Beast smiled.

"I will. I promise."


	10. What Lies Ahead

XXXXXXXX

The X-Men continued their battle with the Brotherhood and Morlocks outside of Worthington Industries. Since he had no long range power of his own, Caliban carried a gun on him and was currently firing at the X-Men. Iceman formed a shield to protect himself and Rogue as Storm prepared to fire a lightning bolt to take him out. But before she could, Angel came flying down from behind Caliban and lifted him up under the arms and began soaring back up into the air. Caliban yelled out when his feet left the ground and turned his head to see what grabbed him.

"Hey! Put me down!" Caliban yelled.

"As you wish!" Archangel called back. Archangel then dropped him mid-flight and Caliban came crashing down onto the roof of a Honda. The windows of the car exploded upon his impact. 

Suddenly, Archangel was then hit by a shockwave from Arclight. She then focused her attention on Storm, nailing her with a shockwave as well which knocked her to the ground below where Spyke was waiting. He formed a long, sharp bone from his wrist and slashed Storm's arm. Arclight then continued, sending shockwaves at Rogue and Iceman, who continued to stay crouched down behind the shield. More and more shockwaves were being sent at them and the ice-shield was slowly but surely breaking.

"I need to get close to her!" Rogue shouted over the sound of the shockwaves.

Iceman nodded as Rogue removed her gloves. She carefully touched his cheek, absorbing his powers before forming a large sheet of ice on the ground that went all the way to where Arclight was standing. Taking a running start, she then slid towards the other female mutant. Arclight tried to move but the ice covered her feet and held them to the ground. Before Arclight could do anything, Rogue grabbed her face and began draining her powers. After a few seconds, she let go and hit Arclight with a shockwave of her own.

Storm and Spyke were continuing their fight as Spyke was able to slash her once again. He then grabbed a hold of her and tried to cut her throat. Storm struggled in his grip as she grabbed his wrist, stopping him before using her powers to spin like a tornado and Spyke was flung off her, crashing against a building on the opposite side of the street. Storm then struck Spyke with a lightning bolt, knocking him out.

Still obtaining Arclight's powers, Rogue turned around towards Magneto who was standing about thirty feet away from her. Giving him a look of reckoning, she came forward and clapped her hands together, sending a shockwave in his direction. Magneto attempted to raise a car up to protect himself but the shockwave came at him too quick and it nailed him, knocking him off his feet. Upon seeing what Rogue did, Iceman quickly 'surfed' on a stream of ice towards Magneto. As he whizzed around him, Iceman iced Magneto to the ground to the point where only his head could be seen. Magneto swore as he immediately felt the effects of the freezing cold, so much so that he couldn't concentrate on anything metal that was near him. 

But back inside the building, Mystique continued to drag Worthington along, up the stairwell which would take them both to the roof.

"Please don't kill me!" Worthington pleaded.

"You mean the way you've killed mutants?" Mystique responded, no emotion at all in her voice.

"No one's died because of this cure! I never meant for it to come to this! The cure was meant to be for those mutants who wanted it!"

"Yes…they're called the weak ones."

They continued to climb the stairs until they reached a door that took them to the roof. Mystique kicked it open and walked Worthington over to the edge. He gasped when he looked down and saw just how long a way down it was. Mystique then smirked when she saw his terrified face.

"Either you'll fall to your death, or you'll grow wings."

She then shoved him off and Worthington fell. His scream echoed through the air, but suddenly at the last second, Archangel swooped in and scooped him up, saving him from death. Worthington yelled out again, this time in surprise as he looked at his son in shock.

"Warren!"

"It's okay, dad! I've got you!"

Archangel continued flying until he was a safe distance away from the building and set his father down on the street.

"Warren, I'm sorry. I…I was wrong."

"It's alright," Archangel assured as he spread his wings. "I have to go back."

"Okay. Just come back to me, okay?" Worthington said, almost in a pleading voice.

"I will."

Archangel then turned around and took off into the sky as Worthington watched in awe.

XXXXXXXXX

Sabretooth slammed Wolverine to the ground again and prepared to claw his face but Wolverine lunged up and headbutted Sabretooth and stabbed him in the stomach. Roaring in frustration, Sabretooth pulled the claws out of him and hurled Wolverine into a chain-linked fence. He clawed at Wolverine's throat, going for his jugular. Pressing his feet against the fence, Wolverine rocketed himself back at the larger mutant, stabbing each one of his shoulders with his claws as they fell to the ground yet again.

Getting right back up, Wolverine screamed and began to go at Sabretooth in a full berserker rage. Sabretooth tried blocking but Wolverine stabbed his arms, chest, and abdomen over and over again. He tackled him to the ground and stabbed Sabretooth in the lungs.

As Sabretooth sputtered up blood, Wolverine slowly raised his claws up into the air, then dropped them down at Sabretooth's neck in order to behead him.

SLAM!

Slowly turning to look at the claws that hit the ground, mere inches from his head, Sabretooth then looked back at Wolverine in confusion. Breathing heavily, Wolverine got up and backed away as he glared down at his nemesis.

"That's not who I am anymore." Wolverine said.

The two continued to stare at each other.

BAMF!

Nightcrawler then teleported next to Wolverine.

"Logan, come. We need to get to Pitor."

Wolverine allowed himself to be teleported away as Sabretooth's wounds healed and he got back up to his feet. The fight was over. Nightcrawler teleported each member of the team, one by one back up to the roof of the building the X-Jet was sitting on. By this time both Pyro and Mystique had ran out of the building and looked around to see the X-Men gone and Magneto frozen to the ground. Pyro carefully melted the ice as they helped Magneto up.

"The doctor is dead," Mystique informed him.

"So is the boy," Pyro lied.

Magneto's teeth chattered as he looked from Mystique to Pyro. The younger mutant had a hard time holding his stare, knowing he was lying.

"Very well," Magneto managed. "Let's go, our mission is complete. Pyro, start a fire."

Pyro then turned and launched a wave of fire at an apartment complex across the street. It gave them a distraction to get away as a SWAT team was currently making their way to the building in order to deal with the situation.

Just as they arrived, the X-Jet took off into the air.

XXXXXXXXX

Back at Xavier's institute, the Professor was waiting as the X-Jet slowly landed in the hangar. The ramp opened up and the team slowly began to exit out. Xavier looked over them all, hoping that one of them were seriously injured, and that they had accomplished their mission.

"Are you all okay?" Xavier asked.

"We'll live," Ororo said, clearly exhausted.

"How did things go?"

Leech then came running down and Xavier smiled upon seeing the young child. He then came over and hugged him.

"Professor!"

"Welcome back, Jimmy. We missed you."

"Thanks for rescuing me."

"Oh course. I always protect my students, you know that."

They all filed into the infirmary as Hank checked them all out. Save for Wolverine, they all had cuts, bumps, and bruises but thankfully nothing that was life-threatening. Afterwards, the rest of the team had changed and went to rest their exhausted bodies but Wolverine was still in uniform as he just sat and stared ahead at the wall. Everything that Sabretooth had told him was still fresh in his mind.

Wolverine unearthed the claws of his right hand and stared down at the blades as he moved his other hand over them.

"Logan?"

He looked up to see Ororo standing by the door, a look of concern of her face.

"Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Logan assured.

Ororo smiled a little. 

"So how did it feel? Officially being part of the team this time? It wasn't Wolverine and the X-Men. It was just the X-Men."

He grinned.

"It felt pretty damn good."

"Thanks for sticking around this time."

Logan nodded as Ororo turned away. He was glad he gave this place a chance. Maybe Hank was right. Maybe he really did belong here. As Logan just continued to sit and think quietly to himself, Bobby and Rogue walked side by side down the hall, Bobby's arm around Rogue's shoulders.

"You did great out there," Bobby complimented.

"So did you," Rogue assured

"You want to stay with me tonight?"

Rogue nodded.

Bobby and Rogue walked in to his bedroom. While he went to his bed, she went to go sit on the bed right next to his, the one that once belonged to John when they were roommates. Rogue then remembered something and pulled the shark zippo lighter out from her pocket, holding it out to Bobby.

"He asked me to give this back to you."

Bobby took the lighter and stared at it. A look of hurt was now clear on his face.

"I gave this to him," he muttered.

Rogue looked surprised.

"I didn't know that."

Bobby nodded.

"It still hurts, you know?"

Rogue however knew that. She could feel the hurt that John's betrayal caused her boyfriend. Bobby let out a long breath as he placed the lighter down on the stand that was in-between the beds.

"Well...I guess we've really lost him."

"We never really had him, Bobby," Rogue sadly responded.

They looked at each other with blank expressions for a moment before finally turning in after a long, long night. But elsewhere, Pyro drove at a steady pace in the car he had just stole. He knew he couldn't stay with The Brotherhood anymore. Who knows what Magneto would do if he ever found out that he let Leech live than lied to him about it.

He didn't know where he would go or where he would end up. But he wasn't afraid. He had been on his own before.

XXXXXXXXX

The following morning at the institute, Worthington and son were walking along the grounds of the mansion, Warren had just finished giving his father a tour. Worthington marveled at the size of it as well as all the mutants that were living here.

"Seems like quite a place," he spoke.

"Yeah, it is," Warren agreed.

"Are you sure you want to stay here?"

Warren nodded.

"Okay. It's fine with me."

"You mean it?"

"Of course." Worthington took a deep breath. "You were right, I have been hiding you away all your life. When Kavita came to me about a cure for mutation, I wasn't just thinking about you, you know? I was thinking about all mutants. I thought it would be a start to ending all the bigotry out there. I couldn't imagine why anyone would still want to be a mutant if they knew that there was a cure out there for it. But now I do."

"Thanks, dad."

Warren was smiling as he reached out and gave his father a tight hug.

Back on the veranda, Rogue was standing out on it, looking up at the sky. Hank McCoy walked out to join her and slowly came up next to her. She turned her head to look at him once she realized she was no longer alone.

"Hi," he greeted.

"Hey."

"I'm on my way out. It felt good putting on that X-Men jacket, one more time. By my place is in Washington now, taking up a different kind of fight."

Rogue nodded before taking a deep breath. 

"So that's it isn't it?" She asked. "All the samples were destroyed when the laboratory was burned down. The doctor who invented it was killed, and Jimmy's here now. There's no more cure for mutants. Magneto got what he wanted in the end."

"Yes," Hank answered.

Rogue lowered her eyes which were now slightly glassy, filled with unshed tears. She had lost her opportunity.

"Rogue, I wanted to talk with you before I left." Hank began as he moved closer to her.

"About what?"

"I didn't always look like this, you know. I had big hands and feet because of my mutation and I hated my appearance. So much so that I worked non-stop on a cure, or what I thought was going to be a cure...and it turned me into this. And there is not a day that goes by that I don't wish I could go back and stop myself from taking it."

Rogue listened carefully, unsure of where the conversation was going.

"I understand what it's like, Rogue. Being unable to touch someone without frightening them. But I came to learn something over time. Something I wished I realized from the start."

Rogue and Hank stared at each other for a few moments.

"You decide the outcome of your life," Hank reassured her. "Just because you are different doesn't mean you need to change or that there is something wrong with you."

Hank then held out an envelope for her. Rogue looked confused as she took it from him.

"In the end, you'll know what the right decision is for yourself."

He then turned and walked away, leaving her to herself. Rogue opened up the envelope and took out what was inside of it. A test tube that was filled with a glowing purple liquid. The sample of the cure he stole when he infiltrated Rao Laboratories.

It was the very last sample of the mutant cure...the hope serum.

XXXXXXXX

Professor Xavier was sitting in his office going over today's lesson for his class when a knock on the door got his attention.

"Yes, come in."

The door opened and Kurt walked in.

"Professor."

"Yes, Kurt. What can I do for you?"

"Well...uh..."

He didn't quite know how to say it. Xavier however only smiled at him as he already knew.

"You're leaving."

Kurt nodded.

"I am not suited for this kind of life, Professor. I am a simple man."

"I understand. I thank you for all that you've done for us. Our doors are always open to you if you ever feel like returning."

"Yes, thank you. We have a term in German, 'Weltschmerz', it means despair over the world. I see it too much around here. You should know that you all are doing wonderful things."

Xavier sighed.

"It is hard to be positive knowing how much we've all sacrificed in this fight for equality. I can only wonder of how much more we're going to have to go through before it is all over."

Kurt nodded as he and the Professor stared at each other. While Kurt made his way around the mansion, saying his goodbyes to the rest of them, speeding down the highway in his viper, Scott Summers had arrived in the Canadian Rockies. Past the expansive woods lie Alkali Lake, still flooded from the X-Men's previous outing there...

The End.

Author's note; This ends the X3 part of the story, the next chapter will begin 'X-Men 4: Phoenix Rises' which will feature the return of Jean Grey as well as Sinister being the new villain who is after Jean and Cyclops.


	11. X-Men 4: The Phoenix Rises

XXXXXXXXX

It was going on five-thirty in the evening as attendants began filing into Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena for tonight's entertainment. On the front of the building, a glossy photo of 'The Golden Age of Circus' hung. At a nearby parking garage, a silver Mercedes AMG and a red Dodge Charger parked next to each other. The doors of the Mercedes opened and out stepped Logan, Ororo Munroe, Warren Worthington III, and Kitty Pryde

"Explain to me again why we couldn't have just gotten a burger and a few beers?" Logan asked, yet again. He had to be dragged here tonight because the circus was exactly ideal for a good time.

"They aren't old enough to drink," Ororo reminded him.

"That's my point. We could have just dropped them off."

"Come on, give it a chance."

"I think the parking spaces cost more than the damn tickets," Logan knew he should stop complaining, he was probably starting to sound like one of the damn kids.

"How would you know?" Warren then said. "My dad got us the tickets."

"You two stop, this will be fun. Tonight other people get to be the freaks for a change," Kitty beamed.

"Kitty," Ororo admonished.

"I'm just saying."

The doors of the Dodge then opened and Bobby Drake, Rogue, Pitor Rasputin, and Jubilation Lee got out. The eight of them began walking together.

"I can't believe we're actually doing something normal tonight," Bobby spoke.

"Tell me about it," Pitor agreed. "These Danger Room sessions are wiping me out."

Ororo smiled.

"Well, Logan and I both agreed that you deserve it. You've all done extremely well."

"Thank you, Ms. Munroe."

"I told you that you can call me Ororo for now on."

"Sorry, old habits."

"Speaking of Danger Room sessions, when am I going to get the chance to train with you guys?" Jubilee then asked.

"Trust me, Jubilee. It's not as fun as you might think," Rogue tried to assure her friend that she wasn't missing anything.

"Listen to Rogue," Bobby echoed. "We just our first session at level eight a week ago. I'm still sore from it."

"Still, I want to start training so I can be on the team. To fight with you guys."

Logan then walked up next to Jubilee.

"You just graduated kid, take it slow. You'll get your chance. Tell you what, tomorrow I'll start you on the beginner's level."

"You mean it?"

"Sure."

A huge smile than appeared on Jubilee's face.

"Excellent!"

Meanwhile inside of the arena's dressing room, The Ringmaster of the circus; a middle aged curly browned haired man dressed in a red tuxedo and black top hat stood in front of his performers as they all got ready. Amongst them was Strong Guy, a man whose body was disproportionately large and over-muscled. Wolfsbane, a teenage girl who could transform into a wolf. Pixie, another teenage girl who had colorful wings that allowed her to fly. Double-Header was a mutant with two heads. Longshot, a younger blonde haired man who was an expert with bladed weapons and could manipulate probability. Last but not least was Dazzler, an attractive young mutant with the ability to convert sound into light beams of various forms and intensity.

"The show is about to begin," The Ringmaster grinned. "Is everyone ready?"

"We were born ready, babe," Dazzler responded as she finished putting on her costume.

"Now that's the attitude. Where is our newest member?"

"We haven't seen him," Pixie said. "But I'm sure he'll be here any second. You said he is a teleporter right?"

Before the Ringmaster could answer he was suddenly grabbed and pulled into the hallway. Fred Dukes, a mutant that stood six-foot eight, five hundred and fifty pounds pushed him against the wall.

"What the hell-"

"You owe me some money," Fred then demanded.

"We'll talk about this later, Blob," the Ringmaster replied, making sure to keep the fear out of his voice.

"No. If I don't get paid upfront, then I don't go out there."

"If you don't perform, than you'll be fired!"

"So that's how it's going to be?"

"Yeah, that's how it's going to be," the Ringmaster then pulled away from the much larger mutant's grip. "Throw your weight around somewhere else."

Fred narrowed his eyes as the Ringmaster walked off. Once he was gone, Longshot joined Fred in the hallway.

"It's time we took over this operation."

"Just say the word," Fred grinned. "I've got about a dozen guys waiting in the wings."

Back out in the arena, once the crowd had settled in their seats the lights went down and a spotlight appeared in the center ring. Holding a microphone, the Ringmaster walked in and addressed the crowd.

"Ladies and gentleman, children of all ages! I give to you the Golden Age of Circus!"

Everyone looked up in amazement as Pixie came flying in, throwing her pixie dust into the air. Double-Header was next as entered with two torches in hand. One head turned to the left, the other to the right as he breathed fire, the flames engulfing a set-up hoop. A roar then erupted from a large, black wolf as it leaped forward, jumping right through it before Wolfsbane morphed into her normal self just before she landed.

Dazzler came in next, wowing the crowd with her different kinds of lights as Longshot set up a giant piece of plywood that Wolfsbane walked over and stood in front of. Longshot then began to throw daggers and other kinds of stabbing weapons at her. The audience gasped with each throw as they just missed the teenage girl. Dazzler continued on with her lights show before the Ringmaster announced Fred.

"The unmovable Blob!"

The other circus mutants stopped what they were doing as the ground shook. Blob came marching out, waving the others towards him, as if daring them to try and knock him off his feet. Strong Guy took a running start before tackling him with all his might. Blob didn't move an inch. Longshot then took out a shotgun and fired blanks which simply bounced off his stomach as he laughed. Pixie came flying down and grabbed the back of Blob's shirt. The audience laughed at the sight of the small girl trying to fly up with Blob but obviously having no hope at all.

The Ringmaster took to the mic again.

"And now ladies and gentleman, I give you...the Incredible Nightcrawler!"

The spotlight swung up high, near the ceiling, where stood Nightcrawler. His tail protruded from the back of his red and white costume. He waved to the audience, then leaped to the swing in the center, high up in front of him. The group of eight, his former teammates began clapping and whistling upon seeing him.

"Remove the nets!"

Several crew members took the nets away. Nightcrawler took a deep breath, and swings from one swing to the next. He grabs a third with his tail, then swings upward. He falls, fast, nearly hitting the ground.

BAMF!

The audience gasped as he disappeared, then applauds as he reappears on the platform from which he started, bowing deeply. A big smile came over Ororo's face as she clapped.

Just then, Longshot looked to Blob and nodded. About a dozen men with ski-masks suddenly entered the arena with guns. The audience screamed as they fired warning shots into the air. Blob then walked to the Ringmaster and knocked him out with a single punch. He then grabbed the microphone.

"Listen up people! Show's over! We want your money and jewelry! Hand it over peacefully and you won't get hurt!"

A half of dozen men in ski masks then made their way into the audience with guns pointed as the snatched people's wallets, purses and other belongings.

"Fred, what the hell are you doing!?" Dazzler screamed.

Longshot pulled out a large knife and pointed it at her.

"Shut up! You all stay back!"

The group of mutants did what they were told as back in the audience the kids looked to Logan and Ororo who motioned for them to get up.

"Let's go."

Warren shook his head as they all crouched as low as they could.

"I knew this was going too well."

But just then, one of Blob's men swung the spotlight over to them.

"What's this? Some people think they can get away?"

The group spun around as several guys began approaching them on both sides. Suddenly, Pitor metaled up and punched one of the men, knocking him out cold. Bobby quickly froze the steps, making the men coming up after them tumble back down.

Blob smirked when he saw it.

"Other mutants, huh?"

Kitty grabbed a hold of Warren when she saw another guy coming at them and they phased through the steps down to the ground below.

Warren gasped.

"Don't ever do that again."

Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

Back on the steps, Ororo punched one of the men, before being grabbed by someone else. Before he could get a chance to do anything-

BAMF!

Nightcrawler teleported her out of harms way, all the way up to the platform near the ceiling.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine."

"What's going on?"

Meanwhile, Logan was trying to get the floor so he could go after Blob when he was hit by something sharp in the back of the neck causing him to yell out in anger at the unexpected painful impact. Reaching behind him, he pulled a Chinese throwing star from his neck. Spinning around, he saw Longshot smirking at him as he got ready to throw more.

"Nice shot, bub. Want to try again?"

"Certainly. I never miss."

Longshot threw another.

SNIKT!

Logan sliced it away as he ran forward. Longshot backed away as he threw another only to get it sliced away again. Quickly pulling out two daggers, Longshot blocked as Logan threw a clawed right hand at him and stabbed him in the ribcage. Before he could stab him again, Jubilee ran at them and began shocking Longshot with her 'fireworks'. It blinded Longshot and threw him off guard long enough for Logan to recover, grab a hold of him and headbutt him with his adamantium skull, knocking him out.

Logan cracked his neck as he looked to Jubilee.

"Thanks kid."

"I'm apart of the team now, right?"

"No."

An angry Blob then stomped his way towards Warren and Kitty and cracked his knuckles.

"So, some mutie kids ruined my plans. I'm going to teach you both a lesson you'll never forget."

"Muties? Are you kidding me?" Kitty spoke incredulously. "No one could be such an enormous fatass without being a mutant!"

Warren touched her shoulder.

"Whoa, down girl."

"What the hell did you say to me!?"

Blob then charged at Kitty but phased right through her.

"Oh, gross!" Kitty yelled.

Warren quickly peeled off his shirt and extended his wings. He wrapped his arms around Kitty's waist and took off into the air as Blob came back around and charged at them again. Back in the stands, Pitor, Bobby, and Rogue were fighting off the rest of Blob's men. Rogue's eyes widened when she saw one of them point their gun straight at Bobby's head.

"Bobby watch out!"

Bobby spun around but tripped over his own feet and ended up tumbling down the stairs. Rogue then ripped off a glove and lunged forward, grabbing the man's arm. The horrible feeling of draining someone's life force then went through Rogue as the man dropped to the ground. Blob came at the fallen teenager as Bobby staggered his way back to his feet. Nightcrawler then teleported onto Blob's back and covered his eyes with his three-fingered hands.

"Peek-a-boo!"

Blob reached up and tossed Nightcrawler away as a strong wind whipped around them all. Storm came down from the top of the arena, her eyes burn white as she manipulates the weather around her. The wind pummels Blob, threatening to move him. Snow and hail then started to pelt him as well. Blob grimaced, but remained firmly planted in place.

"Nothing…moves…the Blob!"

Storm then strengthens the winds as much as she possibly can. Slowly, Blob lifts a half an inch off the ground. It was enough. The wind sends him flying a few feet away before crashing to the ground.

"Bobby freeze him!"

Bobby extended his hands, and ice restraind Blob to the ground. Storm landed on the ground, visibly strained.

"Well, that's that."

As the eight of them gathered together, they were approached by the group of circus mutants.

"Wow, that was amazing," Pixie said.

"The same could be said about you," Rogue responded.

"Yeah but, we could never do that."

"Are you guys treated good?" Bobby then asked.

"Yeah," Strong Guy answered as he turned to look back at Blob who was continuing to curse in his ice-restraints. "I don't know what their problem was."

"So what are we going to do now?" Wolfsbane asked her fellow performers.

Dazzler shrugged.

"I've actually been thinking about going solo for a little while now."

Nightcrawler turned to his former teammates.

"Sorry you didn't get to see the whole show."

"It's okay Kurt, it wasn't your fault," Ororo responded. "I'm the one who sorry. I know this is the type of thing you were trying to get away from."

They all then heard the sound of sirens approaching.

"We need to get out of here," Logan spoke.

"Need a hand?" Nightcrawler smiled.

"It'd be nice."

The eight of them of them gathered around their former teammate and each took a hold of him.

"Hold on tight."

BAMF!

XXXXXXXX

The following morning, inside of a small log cabin located in Canada, just a few minute drive from the location of Alkali Lake, Scott Summers sat on the edge of his bed. He looked very disheveled as he hadn't shaven in weeks. His hair had grown longer and his skin was pale.

He continued to just sit there and stare at the floor when suddenly he heard a voice;

'Scott.'

Scott looked around the room.

'Scott...can you hear me?'

"Jean?" Scott said out loud. Then, in his mind's eye he saw Jean at Alkali Lake, drowning.

'Scott!'

The lake parts slightly.

'I'm still here...'

A flash of a bright light then appeared in his mind's eye.

'Help me...'

Scott shook his head, as though trying to shake the thoughts away. He had been having them for so long now he couldn't tell if the voices he had been hearing were real or just in his head. His cell phone then rang. Scott dug into his pocket for it and reluctantly answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Scott." The voice of the caller belonged to Professor Charles Xavier who was sitting in his office, talking on speaker phone so that Logan and Ororo, who were also in the room with him could listen in on the conversation. "I think it's time for you to come home, Scott. You've been at that log cabin for three months now.

"I can't leave Professor," Scott responded.

"You left here so you could take some time to properly grieve, than move on with your life. You've only made things worse for yourself."

"She keeps calling to me. She's alive, Professor. Jean is alive. And she's coming back any time now. I have to be here when that happens."

"Jean is not communicating with you, Scott. She's gone. Jean is dead," Xavier attempted to reason with him, but it didn't go any good.

"You don't understand, we share a psychic bond. I don't know how, but Jean is alive!" Scott then yelled.

"Scott, you cannot keep doing this to yourself!"

Scott then got up and threw his cell phone against the wall causing it to break into pieces. Xavier shook his head as he looked to Logan and Ororo, both seemed uncomfortable after listening to that.

"So you see, he refuses to leave. He's convinced that Jean is still alive."

"What can we do?" Logan asked.

"We need to go up to Alkali Lake and get him to come back with us."

"What if he won't do that?"

"Than I'll make him."

Both Logan and Ororo looked at each other, a little taken aback by the Professor's statement.

"Normally, I would never.." the Professor than closed his eyes as he shook his head. "But I care too much for Scott to let him continue to do this to himself. I refuse to lose him like I lost Jean. Not when there's something I can do this time."

"Okay," Ororo then spoke. "I'll get the jet ready."

Logan watched Ororo leave the room before turning back to the Professor.

"Should we tell the others?"

"No." Xavier shook his head. "We should only be gone for a an hour, maybe two."

"What's this 'psychic bond' Scott's talking about?"

"Jean used her telepathy to link parts of their minds together," Xavier explained. "So they could always contact each other. The link hasn't switched off in Scott's mind, that's why he believes her to still be alive."

Logan went to the door but then stopped.

"Could he be right?"

He looked back at the Professor but he just shook his head.

"No. The sheer amount of water that collapsed on top of Jean would have obliterated her body completely. There's no way so could have survived that. Scott's unwillingness to let Jean go is what's likely causing him to believe he still feels her."

Xavier and Logan then headed to the hangar where Ororo had finished getting the jet ready for flight. She and Logan helped the Professor up the ramp and fastened him in before going over to the pilot's seat. Over them, the basketball court opened up and slowly the X-Jet levitated from where it had always been stored before taking off, fast into the sky above.


	12. Marauders and Morlocks

XXXXXXXXX

Early the next morning at Washington D.C., Henry McCoy stepped through the doors of the Department of Mutant Affairs building. He took a quick glance at his staff members at their desks, all on the phone. There was a lot of commotion, same as any other day. Some of them still looked at him strange, but Hank was use to the stare. Hank then looked to the flat screen mounted on the center of the left wall. It was broadcasting the events of yesterday in which President McKenna added mutants to anti-discrimination laws. It was a big victory for the mutant community.

By this time, the chief member of his staff, Carol Danvers, an attractive blonde mutant with several different abilities came up to him.

"Hank, there appears to be a situation," she began.

"What is it?"

"We were informed that down in Florida a Trask Enterprises truck was attacked last night by a mutant and a shipment it was carrying stolen. Several witnesses have been interviewed and security tapes are being reviewed as we speak."

"That's good, Carol. Very good."

"As you know, the department of defense is going to think that Magneto was responsible."

"Ah yes, the usual suspect. Well, it's highly likely that he was behind it. Is there anything else I should know?"

"Secretary Creed is waiting for you in your office."

Hank sighed.

"Thanks for the head's up."

Inside of Hank's office, the Secretary of Defense, Graydon Creed sat at one of the chairs across from the desk as he waited for the blue mutant to come in. Hank finally opened the door and headed in, taking off his jacket and hanging it on the coat rack.

"Graydon. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? If it's about the Trask Enterprise truck, Carol just informed me of it."

The other man stood up.

"It's not only that, Secretary McCoy. I've come to let you know that a convoy that was holding two mutant prisoners was attacked last night. They escaped and four federal agents were killed."

"I told you that keeping mutant prisoners mobile was a bad idea."

"Well is case you haven't noticed Hank, we're having a hard time trying to figure out what to do with these animals," Graydon responded in a hard tone. "And with your agency always breathing down our necks about not being too harsh with them we're running low on ideas."

"So what do you suggest?"

"A strong facility, maybe on some kind of island, not easy to access-"

"That's been tried already," Hank reminded. "Remember Alcatraz?"

"Not this time. We'll be one step ahead."

Graydon bent down to pick up a suitcase. He opened it up and took out what looked to be a blue, metallic collar.

"This was what was stolen from the truck down in Florida. It's called a mutant inhibitor collar."

"A what?" Hank questioned.

"Something Trask Enterprises designed. Through electronic means, the collar prevents a particular being from consciously using their mutation, successfully neutralizing them. I brought this for you to examine."

He then handed Hank the collar and a remote.

"Of course. I'll have to see what effect it has on a mutant's well-being."

"It doesn't harm the wearer, it just renders them powerless. The only way to get it off once it's placed on is by pressing this button on the remote. Graydon pointed to the correct button on the remote and Hank nodded.

"Thank you."

"So what are you doing about Magneto?" Graydon then asked, changing the subject. "And his associates, Mystique, Sabretooth..."

"We're actively pursuing all leads."

"I'll bet."

"We are. Magneto has sort of gone off the radar over the last few months. The convoy attack sounds like him, we'll look more into that. But with what happened in Florida, he can't be in two places at once."

Graydon then turned to leave. He opened the door and looked back at Hank one last time.

"My department and I are getting impatient. If you don't take the necessary steps in catching this guy, we will."

"It's not a competition Graydon. You know that Magneto doesn't stay quiet for very long. When he makes his move, we'll be there to apprehend him."

"No, we will be there to apprehend him, not a group of mutant vigilantes. You tell the X-Men to stay out of it."

Right after Graydon left, Hank took a seat at his desk and began looking over the mutant inhibitor collar. Just then, Carol stuck her head in.

"How'd it go?" She asked.

"About how you'd expect," Hank took a deep breath, then remembered the assignment he had given to Carol. "So, do you find out anymore about the tunnels?"

"Yes. I've found the blueprints for them."

Carol brought them in with her and unrolled the blueprints on his desk for Hank do take a look at. Tunnels that were beneath several different states and currently being occupied by The Morlocks.

"Apparently they've been living underground for years now," Carol began to explain. "They come up every so often to steal food and medical supplies. But from what we've gathered, no violent crimes can be attributed to them."

"Several of them allied themselves with Magneto several months ago," Hank pointed out. "We don't know if they still have some sort of partnership or not."

"What's going to be done about them?"

"The government is prepared to offer them safe space in a sanctuary city in exchange for their corporation in leaving those tunnels," Hank told her.

"Who's going to negotiate with them?"

"You're looking at him."

"It's not a good idea to go down there alone, we have no idea of how many live in those tunnels. You're going to need some help."

Hank smiled.

"I think I know just the right people."

Before Carol could respond, a knock on the open door got her and Hank's attention.

"Sir, I think you need to see this," the staff member Curtis said. "It's at the end of the secruity video."

Both Hank and Carol both got up to follow Curtis back to his desk. Curtis unpaused the video they got from Florida to see a large tornado attack the truck at Trask Enterprises. It took out all of the workers and secruity before the tornado disapeared and they all now found themselves staring at a man on the video tape.

"Well that answers it," Hank sighed. "A mutant was responsible for the attack. Curtis, run the man's face through our database, see if he has a record."

"Yes sir."

XXXXXXXX

A large concrete building sits out on the horizon at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on an otherwise beautiful landscape of gently rolling hills. A freshwater lake surrounds the facility as does a vast series of plants and trees. Inside, there was a large, airless room, devoid of windows, filled with computers and top of- the-line equipment to examine DNA. Sitting at one of the computers, Scrambler, a small Korean mutant typed, going over something his boss had given him. Just then, Riptide, a Spanish-American mutant with slicked back dark hair and could honestly pass for a male model walked into the room. He watched Scrambler work for a moment before he was suddenly and violently thrown backwards into the wall by an invisible force.

He then started to choke as he could no longer breathe.

"What part of keep a low profile did you not understand?"

The calm, but angry deep voice came from the shadows as only a pair of glowing red eyes could be seen. Stepping out into the light, was a tall figure wearing a black cape with red satin lining with his fist clenched in front of himself. He was known as Sinister.

And his appearance matched his name. Shining red eyes with no visible pupils, a red diamond upon his forehead, just above the nose. His silky skin was milk-white and his long hair was jet black.

"You've been making a lot of mistakes since I've amplified your power, Riptide," Sinister growled. "I told you to just steal the shipment, as low-key as possible."

He then unclenched his fist and Riptide fell to the floor. Riptide gasped for air and rubbed his throat. After a few more deep breaths he managed to say;

"Sorry...Mr. Sinister."

"Don't let it happen again. We are not ready to make our move just yet."

"I'm still getting use to it," Riptide admitted. "I don't know my own strength."

"I suggest you learn it. Quickly."

Riptide nodded.

"I will."

Sinister then looked to Scrambler who had ignored the whole thing.

"Scrambler?"

Scrambler finished his last entry then spun around.

"Yes sir?"

"Have you identified the mutation yet?"

"Apparently this is the DNA of a shape-shifter."

"Excellent," Sinister smiled. "Continue your work."

Sinister then leaves the room. As he went back to typing, Scrambler chuckled to himself and then spoke in a sing-song voice;

"You screwed up again."

Riptide glared at Scrambler.

"Shut the hell up or I'll-"

Scrambler spun around in his chair again.

"Or you'll what? Go ahead, touch me." He challenged.

"You know full well I don't have to touch you to hurt you."

"Oh yes, a raging tornado inside of this place. I'm sure that would make Sinister very happy with you."

Riptide grinded his teeth and Scrambler laughed at his obvious frustration.

As he turned back to his computer, Scrambler then noticed that a certain someone wasn't at Sinister's side like usual.

"Well I saw the devil. Where is the devil's favorite demon?"

"Probably out looking for more recruits," Riptide guessed. "That's his job isn't it?"

Elsewhere in the compound was a practice room. The lights were dim inside of it, and a faint humming sound started to grow louder, as if a hoard of insects were getting ready to swarm. Suddenly the humming grows in volume as a round silver projectile, the size of a baseball came shooting out from the ceiling. Alexander Summers, a young man in his early twenties with a short head of brown hair unleashed a light blue burst of energy from his chest, destroying it. Another projectile was released, this time from the center wall. Alex got that one as well.

He continued on, one after another before two projectiles come at him at once. Alex got one, but ducked beneath the other.

"You missed one."

Alex looked over to see that Sinister had entered the room.

"But I didn't get hit," Alex responded.

Sinister walked further into the room and began to slowly circle around him.

"If you have the chance to destroy something, destroy it."

Another projectile came hurling down. Alex quickly blasts it.

"You're still only using one blast at a time," Sinister observed. "I amplified your powers for a reason."

Three more projectiles suddenly come at him at the same time from different directions.

BLAST! BLAST! BLAST!

Alex nails all three at the same time with three different blasts of energy, all unleashed at the same time, and done so with far more power. Sinister grinned.

"That's my boy. Looks like you are going to need a new mutant name."

"You know, I'm glad you found me. I always wanted to be with a group of mutants like this. Like that team they talk about on the news."

"You mean the X-Men?" Sinister questioned.

"Yeah."

"Be glad you are not with them."

"Why's that?"

"They protect people who want to eliminate mutants."

"Why would they do that?"

BUZZ!

Alex quickly spun to his left and blasts two projectiles.

"Because they are weak-minded, pathetic fools." Sinister then turned to leave. "Finish your practice."

BLAST!

"So what's my new mutant name?" Alex then asked.

Turning back to look at him, Sinister smirked.

"Havok."

Sinister left the training room and headed to his office. Once he was there he shut the door and moved along to his desk. On top of it was the New York Times newspaper he received and the headline was 'Mutants living under the ground?' The story was about a couple who had apparently seen a group of mutants entering the sewers late at night. Apparently a CVS had been robbed, but no one had been hurt. The only thing that had been stolen was medical supplies and food. Sinister flipped to the next page and found himself staring at Callisto who was at the head of the group with three other Morlocks that Sinister remembered as Arclight, Caliban, and Spyke. 

"Don't worry, Callisto…" Sinister growled as his fist clenched while breathing heavily in anger. "You and the rest of the menagerie will be exterminated very soon.


	13. Jean's Rebirth

XXXXXXXXX

Scott and Jean had walked through the garden of the mansion together before sitting down on a bench. It was a nice evening, they had just gotten finished eating dinner. It was a night they needed after their fight against Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants, 

"Scott, you and I have been together for years," Jean began. "We're both happy in this relationship, right?"

"Of course," Scott smiled. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to try something. My telepathy has been stronger since we've gotten back from Liberty Island, and I think I can do this."

"What?"

Jean began to explain;

"I want to create a psychic rapport between us. A bond. An ultimate bond, ultimate trust. A piece of me in you, a piece of you in me."

Scott didn't know how to respond. He laughed nervously for a second.

"Jean...wow."

"I know it's a lot. It's okay to say no."

"Why would I say no?"

A smile then appeared on Jean's face.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Yes."

Jean then put her hands up to his temples. After focusing for a moment, a bit of a rush went through the both of them before she put her hands back down. In that instant, she was finished.

"All done. Feel different?" Jean asked.

"I...I can't believe it," Scott said, his eyebrows raised. "It feels-"

"Wonderful," Jean finished, knowing what he was about to say. Not because of her telepathy, but because of the bond that now shared. Scott smiled at her before leaning forward to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and at the moment nothing else mattered but the two of them...

XXXXXXXXXXX

Scott was sitting on his parked car as he remembered that evening. He then got up and approached Alkali Lake. The lake that took the love of his life away. In his mind's eye, Jean pushes back the water bursting from the dam with her telekinesis, while simultaneously lifting the X-Jet, with the other X-Men aboard, out of harm's way.

"It's the only way..."

"Jean...listen to me. Don't do this..." Scott begged.

"Goodbye."

Then, he saw her drowning again, in his mind.

'Scott!'

"Stop," Scott said, out loud to himself.

'Scott...help me.'

"Stop it."

The voices in his head began to grow louder and louder. Scott covered his ears but it does nothing. Finally, he threw his head back and yells up to the sky;

"STOPPPPPPPPP!"

Scott then violently pulled his shades off and releases the full potential of his optic blasts directly into the lake. The beams tear into the water and cut a huge swath, throwing up a massive wave in either direction. His beams travel across the lake until they hit the remains of the dam and blow large pieces of it away. Scott continues firing until his energy is completely and utterly drained. He squeezed his eyes closed before dropping down to his knees, taking deep breath after deep breath, trying to calm himself down. The water settled back into the lake and all seemed to return to normal.

Silence.

A few bubbles suddenly gurgled from the center of the lake. Then more and more, until a whirlpool forms in the center. A pebble floated in the air and brushed past Scott's cheek. Then another. Then a leaf. Then more and more. All around him, small and large objects levitate into the air until Scott's area is surrounded by a cloud of floating leaves, rocks, stones, and twigs. Putting his glasses back on, Scott then saw what was going on around him and his brows furrowed in confusion.

"What the hell?"

BOOM!

A violent explosion than erupts from the whirlpool as a large, gleaming object shoots out, creating a massive blast of water in every direction. The shockwave hits the shore and violently throws Scott backwards away from the edge, making him land painfully on his back.

A creature of pure energy then rose from the depths. It glowed like a living star, emanating wave after wave of telekinetic energy. The object made of fiery light then formed the shape of a bird with expansive wings. It blinded Scott, who was shielding his eyes. It slowly flies down towards him. Inside the bird's mass of light, there was a dark silhouette of a woman. The object settled down at the edge of the outcropping. Scott slowly stood back up, mouth open, and still in pain due to how he landed and took up a defensive posture against the object. The fires and light finally faded out, revealing the woman.

It was Jean Grey.

She was alive...reborn. She blinked a few times before she looked down at her limbs, stunned and disoriented. Scott muttered to himself;

"A dream...has to be a dream."

Jean then looked back up. She seemed real. She blinked, slowly recognizing him.

"Scott?"

"Jean…how?" Scott managed to say.

Jean looked at her glowing limbs again, feeling her power.

"I...I don't know."

Scott slowly took a step towards Jean, than froze. His hands were trembling, and his legs were unsteady as his entire body shook. Jean then smiled.

"You came for me…"

A smile then came to Scott's face as he shook his head.

"I knew it. I just knew it."

Scott closed the gap between them, reaching out to Jean and put his arms around her. To his amazement, she was real and solid and the two moved in for a tight, loving embrace. Jean melted into him, smiling and wrapping him in his arms. Scott put his chin on her shoulder and tears slowly rolled down his cheeks.

"I thought I lost you, Jean...thought I lost you forever..."

"Its okay," Jean reassured. "I'm here. I'm really here."

Scott clutches her and holds on as tight as he can. He then squeezed too hard and Jean gasped loudly with a wide-eyed look of alarm. He quickly let go and looked her over.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

Jean lowered herself to the ground and Scott followed. He then remembered back to their mission at Alkali Lake that seemed like ages ago.

"Your leg was broken."

Jean shook her head.

"It's not my leg. Something's wrong."

Neither Scott nor Jean noticed a large mass of water starting to vaporize into the air around them, going faster and faster as Jean became more anxious and agitated. Her eyes then started to glow orange and Scott became even more alarmed.

"Jean, what is it!?"

"I don't know! I can't-!"

The water vapor then exploded in a blast of telekinetic energy. Scott was catapulted through the air, flying into the trees of the nearby forest. Jean was knocked off the outcropping by the force of the blast and landed on the rocky shoreline, hitting her head on a large rock which knocked her unconscious.  
The vapors quickly spread into a thick fog that settles in around Alkali Lake.

XXXXXXXXX

The X-Jet sliced through the clouds as Ororo sat in the pilot's seat, Xavier sitting next to her while Logan paced in the back. They sat in silence when suddenly Xavier heard someone call to him, telepathically.

'Professor!'

Xavier groaned loudly as he clutched his head and tumbled to the floor of the jet.

"Professor!" Ororo yelled in alarm.

Logan had seen what had happened and ran to his side. He carefully grabbed his arms and helped Xavier back into his seat.

"What happened?" Logan asked.

Once he saw sitting again, Xavier's eyes darted to the sides as he tried to communicate with whomever it was that just contacted him.

"Are you okay?"

"I sensed something. Scott is at the lake...something has happened there," Xavier managed to say.

"What?"

"I don't know. I'm trying to concentrate but…my telepathy is being blocked."

Arriving at Alkali Lake, Ororo sat the jet down as gently as possible before lowering the ramp. Logan pushed the Professor's wheelchair down, and immediately entered a thick fog.

"I can't see a damn thing," Logan cursed.

Ororo's eyes rolled in the back of her head and the fog quickly dissipates. Logan then looked incredulously at the multitude of the floating rocks littering the air. Droplets of water fall upwards from leaves.

"What's happening here?"

Ororo looked to the Professor.

"Do you sense anything now?" She asked.

"By the woods," Xavier said.

Logan began making his way towards the woods while the Professor and Ororo went their own ways. He sniffed and he sensed the presence of another person. He suddenly heard a groan and he quickly ran until he saw a man laying on his side on the ground, trying to get back to his feet.

It was Scott.

Running over to his side, Logan gently grabbed him and helped him sit up.

"Scott? What happened? What are you doing here?"

Scott completely ignored him and looked around widely.

"Jean? Where is she?"

"What are you talking about?"

"She's alive!" Scott yelled. "Jean is alive!"

Scott staggered to his feet and tried to run but he nearly collapsed again. Logan caught him and threw his arm over his shoulder, helping him back to the jet but Scott tried getting away from him the whole time.

"Stop fighting me," Logan snapped.

"No! Find Jean!"

Meanwhile, Ororo was making her way down to the lake when she stopped in her tracks at what she saw…or rather what she didn't see.

The lake…Alkali Lake was gone.

The water was completely dried up, what she saw in front of her was a giant mass of land. Her mouth hung open in shock as she continued looking upon what use to be a lake, too stunned to take her eyes off of it. Finally, she heard the yell of the Professor;

"Ororo! Logan!"

She forced herself to turn around and run towards the rocks, where she had heard the Professor's call to her. When she finally reached him she stopped again at what he was looking down at. A woman.

Jean.

Xavier then spoke in a whisper, so soft she barely heard him;

"Scott was right; she's alive."

In disbelief, Ororo went over and dropped down next to her. Jean's eyelids fluttered briefly, but didn't open. That motion but her in action.

"Logan!" She screamed. "Over here!"

After having taken Scott to the jet, Logan ran to the rocks after hearing Ororo yell and his eyes widened in shock when he saw Xavier and Ororo hovering over the body of Jean Grey.

"Jean?" He gasped.

"We have to get her medical attention," Ororo said.

Logan forced himself to move forward and gently picked Jean up in his arms, carrying her back to the jet as Ororo pushed Xavier's wheelchair.

"Jean?" Scott said as he saw them. "Is she alright?"

Scott looked on as Logan ran up the ramp and carefully placed her down on the floor of the jet.

"I don't know. We need to get her back to the mansion."

"I told you, Professor! Damn it, why couldn't you listen to me!?" Scott demanded.

Xavier didn't respond once he and Ororo were on the jet, Ororo ran over to the pilot's seat.

"I'll try to get us back as fast as I can."

"No Ororo, not to the mansion," Xavier began. "We need to take Jean somewhere else first."

"Then where?"

Xavier closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and looked over to Ororo.

"Muir Island."

Ororo turned on the jet and took it up into the air. She set the coordinates for the location the Professor told her and began flying in that direction. However, back at the mansion, Warren and Kitty were alone in the student lounge, on the couch. Kitty sat on Warren's lap as they smiled and talked with one another. Kitty then leaned down to kiss him-

"Hey guess," Jubilee interrupted as she walked into the room, seemingly oblivious to what Warren and Kitty were trying to do. "Have you guys seen Logan anywhere?"

Warren sighed heavily as Kitty looked over at her friend.

"We saw the jet take off a little bit ago. He must have left. The Professor and Storm are gone too."

"But Logan was supposed to let me train today," Jubilee almost whined.

"Jub, has anyone ever told you..." Warren stopped for a moment..."that you're annoying?"

Letting out a fake gasp, Jubilee then reached out and flicked Warren in the ear.

"Ow!"

Kitty laughed as Jubilee then playfully glared at her.

"Did Kitty tell you to say that?" She demanded.

"No," Warren assured. "I figured that out all on my own."

"My job is to annoy you."

"You're great at your job."

Jubilee smiled proudly as Pitor then walked in, having heard the conversation.

"I'll do the introductory session with you, Jubilee. It will take my mind off some things."

"Thank you, Pitor. You guys want to come with us?"

Warren looked to Kitty who shrugged.

"Why not? The movie we were going to see doesn't start for another hour."

Kitty and Warren got up and walked with Pitor and Jubilee down to the Danger Room. Once they reached the sub-complex of the mansion, Pitor set the controls for the session as Jubilee stood with Warren and Kitty, looking around the large, domed room with a somewhat stunned look on her face. It was a little overwhelming being in here.

"Now, uh...just how dangerous is this?" Jubilee then asked, nervously.

"Well, there's a safety protocol installed to prevent fatalities, but you can get hurt," Shadowcat explained.

"I've gotten hurt a few times," Archangel then said.

Jubilee now looked scared which Shadowcat noticed.

"You sure you want to do this?"

"What? Yes...of course I'm sure."

Pitor then walked in and the doors closed behind him. The room began to do its usual thing, as it changed into the level one setting. The group of four then found themselves now standing in front of the school. It was nighttime as Jubilee looked around before seeing in the distance a group of soldiers coming at them. Colossus metaled up while Archangel extended his wings.

"What do we do?" Jubilee asked.

"Defend the school," Colossus explained. "Stop the soldiers from getting in. We have to stop them for two minutes. That's how long the session is."

Jubilee nodded as she began sending blasts of her fireworks at the soldiers. Shadowcat dove forward and grabbed one around the knees before dragging him through the ground, leaving him sunken in at chest level. Archangel spun, taking out two with his wings. Colossus picked up one and tossed him far up into the air, he crash landed on a group of three soldiers, taking them all out at once. He then looked over at Jubilee.

"Keep going! You're doing fine!"

Colossus hit one soldier with a punch, then another. A solider then ran right through Shadowcat but she spun around and grabbed his shoulders, slamming him to the ground. Archangel used his wings to lung up and smashed his forehead against the head of a solider.

Some more soldiers continued coming at them as Jubilee even more sparks while the others continued fighting. They didn't have much time left and so they were close to successfully completing the level. Shadowcat leveled a solider with a punch, then a kick to the jaw. Jubilee tried to throw a punch herself but her wrist was caught. She sent sparks into his eyes and the solider cried out as he was blinded and stumbled around until he was closelined by Colossus. Archangel grabbed a soldier by the leg, flu up into the air and dropped simply dropped him, making him crash onto a group of three other soldiers. Jubilee managed to punch another one before Shadowcat dropped him with a punch of her own.

Finally, about a dozen soldiers came at them at the same time. Archangel, Shadowcat, Jubilee, and Colossus all grabbed each others arms, forming a human chain so they could not pass, but just as quick as they appeared they began to vanish into nothing. The grounds of the school started to disappear as the Danger Room shifted back into its normal self.

"Simulation complete."

Jubilee panted in relief.

"Wow. That was fun."

"Yeah, well," Colossus responded. "Wait until you get level eight."

"Let's do level eight."

"No!" Colossus, Shadowcat, and Archangel all said at the same time, causing Jubilee to laugh.

She was afraid at first, but now the bright smile Jubilee's face wouldn't disappear. At that moment she knew that she had found her calling. This was what she was born to do.


	14. Muir Island

XXXXXXXX

Standing with his back up against a lifeguard tower at a beach in Fort Lauderdale, a gold lighter with a design of a dragon was opened, lit, and the closed. Pyro was watching the waves as he repeated the action over and over. The beach was empty as the sun was slowly starting to go down. Absent-mindedly, he formed a fireball in his right hand and began playing around with it for a minute before extinguishing it. He then continued to stare at the water while playing with his lighter at the same time.

"Mon ami, you got a cigarette?

Pyro must have really been daydreaming because he never saw the guy walk up. A young man around his age, maybe a few years older stood a few feet from him. He was wearing a brown leather trench coat, black gloves with the fingers cut off and a pair of WX sunglasses.

"Sorry, I don't smoke."

"Ya seem to have a strong attachment to that lighter, for a non-smoker."

"You have no idea," Pyro muttered.

The other man then walked up and leaned against the tower next to him before pulling out a pack of playing cards that he began shuffling in his hands.

"That was quite a trick you did."

Pyro watched him with weary eyes which the other man took notice of.

"Relax, homme. I've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve as well."

Taking out the ace of spades, the man made the card glow a deep violet color as Pyro watched, transfixed. He then held the card away from him, burning it away until all that was left was sparkling ashes on the breeze. A cocky grin then appeared on the other man's face. It was a look Pyro knew all too well, since he was the one who usually wore it.

"My name's Remy, but people know me around here as Gambit. What's yours?"

Pyro opened his lighter, lit it and stared at the flame. He wondered how he should answer. His human name or his real name.

"John."

Gambit nodded as he held out his hand, which Pyro shook briefly.

"Well, John. I was heading to the tavern, any interest in joining me for that?" Remy asked.

"I'm not twenty-one."

"So?"

Pyro shrugged. He had nothing else to do.

"What the hell?"

Gambit smirked as he led the way and together they walked away from the beach and down the street. They kept going until they reached a place called 'The Blue Boat Tavern'. Pyro took a seat at the bar, drinking a glass of cherry Dr. Pepper while Gambit had gotten engaged in a poker game with three other guys.

"You in or you out?"

Gambit threw some more money on the table.

"I see your fifty, and I raise you a hundred."

"Damn it, you better not be bluffing," one of the players said.

Pyro occasionally glanced at the card game before he just ignored it completely and stared down at his new lighter he clutched in his hand. Just then he heard one of the men at the table shout;

"Hey, you're cheating!"

"Now, now, this here's just a friendly game of poker," Gambit smiled, putting his hands up.

"Bullshit! You have half a deck up your sleeve!"

The man across from Gambit knocked his chair back and flipped the table, but Gambit spun away, his coat whirling around him dramatically as he pulled out a long metal staff. He charged it up and nailed him across the jaw, taking him out. The first player came at him with a fist, Gambit managed to duck away mostly, but it still caught the edge of his glasses and sent them flying. Pyro then released a stream of flame at the man, which caused him to crash against the wall. His body caught fire and got up screaming, desperately trying to put himself out but only caused the tavern to catch on fire. Gambit turned back to look at him, and Pyro was momentarily transfixed when he saw his eyes. The pupils were black and the iris' were red.

The fire quickly spread to the walls and ceiling of the bar. Gambit then pulled out a card, charged it up and threw it to the side, just a few feet away from a cluster of people, and two booths blew up in a burst of vinyl, splinters, and stuffing. Ignoring the shouts and cries from the others in the tavern, Pyro laughed while taking control of the fire again as his body temperature continued to go up, his heart rate quickening as the bar completely went up in flames. He then felt a hand on his shoulder, snapping him back to reality.

"Mon ami, as much fun as it is to watch your show, we need to be going."

Gambit and Pyro ran from the tavern as the flames began climbing towards the sky. After a minute they reached the boardwalk before finally coming to a stop. Gambit leaned against the railing, arms crossed over his chest as he tried to slow his breathing. Pyro clenched and unclenched his fist as stared at the burning tavern in the distance, a grin coming to his face.

Gambit then gave him a slow, golf clap.

"Very impressive. A fire-starter, huh?"

The other mutant took a deep breath.

"I control fire. I can't create it," Pyro responded.

"Doesn't seem to hold you back," Gambit shrugged.

"Yeah, well...it does."

Gambit then raised an eyebrow, a thought coming to mind.

"That can be changed."

"What do you mean?" Pyro asked as he cocked his head.

"You trust me, mon ami?"

Pyro couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Uh...sure. I trust you."

Gambit motioned with his hand for Pyro to follow him.

"Come with me."

The two of them began walking down the sidewalk, heading west. Pyro had to pick up the pace to keep up with the other mutant. He then managed to ask;

"Where are we going?"

"To a compound, run by a mutant scientist. He collects genetic samples of other mutants DNA. Usually by force."

"What for?"

"Supposedly to create the ultimate mutant."

Pyro then outstretched his arm in front of Gambit's chest, stopping him from continuing to walk.

"So why would I want to meet him?"

"Cause, mon ami, he can help you with your little...problem. If you're interested follow me. If not, you're free to go your own way."

Gambit moved ahead as Pyro watched him before taking out his lighter. He flipped it open, lit it and stared at the flame, full well knowing he had nothing to go back to. Closing the lighter back up, Pyro continued to follow the other mutant. As they continued their way, back at the compound a young, Inuit man whose clothes and shoes were made from animal skins just finished up his session in the practice room. Kodiak Noatak placed several metal spears into a specially made backpack that hung over his shoulders.

Sinister who had watched the session walked closer to him.

"Awe-inspiring."

Kodiak bowed his head respectfully.

"My people, we hunt for our food. We have to be learn how to be the predators, not the prey." He then clutched another spear in his hand the suddenly began to glow white with bio-energy, as did his eyes. "This feeling...it's incredible. I've never felt power like this before."

Kodiak could charge items with bio-energy and when released, any matter would explode or disintegrate on contact. He could also stun, paralyze or kill living beings with these charged items.

"It will make you the ultimate hunter," Sinister explained. "You will make a fine addition to The Marauders. What do you call yourself Kodiak?"

"Harpoon."

Sinister smirked.

"How appropriate."

Out in the hallway, Alex was sitting on the ledge of one of the large four windows, looking down at a photograph in his hands. It was of him with his foster family, around him with all smiles. Alex missed them terribly, even though they weren't his real parents, they had treated him like he was-

"May I?"

Alex, startled, turned to find Sinister watching him with his hand held out. Alex turned over the photo to him. Sinister looked it over briefly before giving it back. Alex quickly put it in his pocket.

"I see no resemblance," Sinister said before giving it back. Alex took it and quickly put it back in his pocket.

"No, uh..they are...they were my foster parents, "Alex explained. "I was adopted when I was little."

Sinister nodded.

"Walk with me, Alex."

Alex got up and walked with Sinister down the hall, heading in the direction to the laboratory. Alex then began to speak.

"So what is all this? What are we doing here?"

"What do you imagine for the future, Alex? Your future?" Sinister responded, ignorning his question.

"I'm really not sure."

"I can see your future."

"You can?" Alex responded, bewildered.

"I see you helping our race continue to evolve. I see you helping give birth to the ultimate specimen of mutants."

"You mean genetics?"

"What do you know about genetics?" Sinister asked.

"Just the stuff from science class in school. DNA, genes..."

"Go on."

"Well, our bodies are made up of cells and in each cell is our DNA," Alex began. "The DNA is made up of genes and the genes tell the cells what to do and when to do it.  
Is that right?"

"In a matter of speaking," Sinister smiled. "What were you taught about mutation? The mutant gene?"

"Not much. They just said that it wasn't natural. Sort of talking about it like it was a disease."

"That doesn't surprise me."

They came up to the laboratory door which Sinister opened and the two headed in. Sinister walked over to a computer and typed in commands. The screen starts to show the letters, 'X', 'Y', 'A', and 'T' in various sequences. The letters fill the screen.

"A mutation is a change in DNA, the hereditary material of life. An organism's DNA affects how it looks, how it behaves, and its physiology. So a change in an organism's DNA can cause changes in all aspects of its life."

He looked to the younger mutant.

"Mutation is essential to evolution. And that's why humans fear us. We have surpassed them in the evolutionary chain. We have risen about them, beyond them. And we must eliminate them. For this world is not large enough to harbor the weak."

Alex raised his eyebrows.

"I see why you call yourself Sinister."

Sinister smirked.

"Everything is sinister. And if you're not sinister, your time is over."

Just then, Gambit appeared in the doorway.

"How good of you to join us. You may go, Alex."

Alex turned and exited the room, leaving the two alone. Once Alex was a good distance away, Sinister began speaking with Gambit.

"Thank you for finding Kodeck. He might be the most vicious of them all. You've done well, my son."

"You ain't my father," Gambit snapped at him while leveling him a glare. "My father is Jean-Luc LeBeau."

"Your adopted father. The one who stole you from me-"

"He stole me from de gutter!"

"After you were stolen from the hospital by their guild to see if you could fulfill their insufferable prophecy."

Lowering his eyes, Gambit shook his head before repeating in a whisper;

"You ain't my father."

"DNA doesn't lie Remington," Sinister smirked.

"It's Remy! Gambit to you."

"Time grows short and I am in no mood to deal with your tantrums," Sinister sighed. "You've done a fine job in assembling my Marauders, Gambit. I just need one more."

"I thought you'd might say that. It's always 'just one more'. I've found a mutant who can manipulate fire."

That peaked Sinister's interest.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Calls himself Pyro. He's waiting outside."

"Bring him to me."

XXXXXXXX

Off the northern coast of Scotland, a small island laid where a large facility called the Mutant Research Center was built upon. The island was known as Muir Island and it was run by an old friend of the Professor's, Dr. Moira MacTaggert. The Mutant Reseach Center facility held a wealth of knowledge on various mutants, their abilities, and other mutant-related issues and concerns as well as top of the line medical equipment. Inside the facility, Moira was carrying a tray of food and medicine for her son. Once she reached the door, she looked in the glass window seeing her son, Kevin sitting in bed watching television. Slowly, she opened the door and walked inside.

"Kevin. It's time to take your medicine."

Kevin didn't respond as Moira walked closer to him, placing the tray down on the lamp table. She handed him the pill and a glass of water which Kevin took.

"Are you feeling okay?"

Kevin nodded but again didn't answer. Moira gently stroked his hair before smiling and getting up, heading back to the main lab. Once she reached her destination, Moira took a seat at her desk and began speaking into her recorder as she began typing on her computer. She then pushed a button on her recorder and began speaking out loud;

"Kevin's been unresponsive for three days now. If it continues I may have to increase his medication."

She typed the strength of the dosage into a timetable she had on the computer. Her son was an extremely powerful and destructive mutant born with a mental illness. The medicine was necessary over the years to keep him calm, but she was starting to worry that he had built up a tolerance to it and therefore may no longer work. As she continued to type, suddenly a strong wind blew through the open door causing her to look up. She was shocked to see a blue jet slowly land on the grounds of the facility. The ramp opened up and Xavier was carefully wheeled down by Ororo. Once he was settled Ororo went back into the jet for Scott. Just then, Moira came over to greet him.

"Charles," Moira smiled. "What an unexpected surprise."

"I'm sorry for just dropping in on you like this Moira." Xavier apologized. "But we need your help."

"What is it?"

"It's something I've never seen before."

Logan then came walking down the ramp carrying Jean in his arms.

"Is that Jean?" Moria asked, stunned.

"Yes," Xavier answered.

"You told me she died saving you all."

"She had. Or least I thought she had."

Logan then sighed with irritation.

"Do you have some place for her?"

"Yes, follow me."

As Logan followed Moira into the facility, Ororo came back down the ramp with Scott's arm thrown over her shoulder.

"Is she going to be alright, Professor?" Scott asked in a worried voice.

"That's why we're here Scott. Muir Island has the best medical scans available for mutants."

Once they all got settled, Scott was being kept in his own room, away from Jean in order to treat his own injuries. Xavier and Ororo stayed with him while Logan waited in the hall.

"I want to be with her," Scott said.

"I know Scott, but Moira needs space now to examine her," Xavier responded. "Plus you're in no condition to be on your feet."

"How is she alive Professor? How is it possible?"

"We're going to have to wait to hear from Jean and find out what she remembers."

Meanwhile, in the room right next to theirs, Moira was hooking up machines to Jean who was lying peacefully on the bed. However, just when she was ready to place an IV in her arm, Jean woke and grabbed Moira's wrist, causing her to jump in surprise.

"Relax."

Jean looked around the room, groggy.

"Where am I?"

"You're at Muir Island, you're safe," Moira explained. She then knelt down next to her. "Jean, do you remember me?"

Jean looked at her and squinted. After a few moments;

"Dr. MacTaggert?"

"Yes."

"Where's Scott?"

"He's in a room right next door. He's fine. Jean, what do you remember about Alkali Lake?"

"I remember...the jet. There was water, a mountain of water. It was coming for me..."

Jean then shuttered as the objects in the room began to rattle and shake. Moira looked around in surprise just as the shaking stopped. She placed a hand on the other woman's arm, trying to comfort her.

"It's okay. You're okay now."

"Then things went dark. I wasn't awake...but I wasn't asleep. I remember calling out to Scott, I felt him close...and then everything was clear again." Jean then looked at Moira who was watching her intently. "Can I see him?"

"Not just yet. I need to examine you first."

"I think I'm alright. Just my right leg."

Moira gently touched it and Jean winced.

"Yes, I was told you broke it during your last mission. And since it's been untreated for so long you may have a number of complications."

She then placed the IV in Jean's arm.

"Give the morphine some time to work."

She then left the room and walked into the hallway where Logan was.

"Come with me," she said.

Logan followed Moira into Scott's room. The others looked at her and Scott quickly sat up.

"How is she?"

"She's awake."

"I want to see her."

"Not yet, Scott. I want to do a CAT scan on her, just to make sure everything is alright. It should take about an hour."

Moira then turned to leave as Scott looked at the Professor in frustration.

"Professor-"

"Just give it time."

"I've waited long enough," he then snapped.

"I know you want to be with her, just remember she's really here, alive."

Scott stared at her for a moment before calming down a little and leaned back against the pillow.

An hour had gone by and the four of them waited in the lab for the results, none of them saying anything, they just continued to wait for the answers they were dying to know. If it hadn't been for the injuries he sustained at Alkali Lake, Scott would have been pacing back and forth. Finally, Moira walked in.

Scott got to his feet.

"Well?"

"The untreated fracture to Jean's right leg has resulted in some bone deformity and possibly some permanent nerve damage. She's going to need surgery."

Scott rubbed his face while Xavier just stared at her. And while that sounded bad that wasn't what he was concerned with at the moment.

"Did she say anything Moira? What does she remember about Alkali Lake?"

"She doesn't remember much. She described her state as not being awake, but not being asleep either."

"And just what the hell does that mean?" Logan then asked.

"Her words, not mine. But I do have a theory on how she survived. I believe her powers protected her. A cocoon of telekinetic energy formed around her body to protect her from the water. It kept her in a state of suspended animation this whole time…something woke her."

"My optic beams," Scott remembered.

"I'm sorry?"

"I fired my beams into the lake. Maybe that's what did it."

"What made you do that?" Ororo asked.

"I kept hearing her, in my head."

"Jean called out to you," Xavier spoke. "Using the bond you share."

"I tried to tell you."

"I'm sorry, Scott."

While the group kept talking, inside the room Jean was laying in the bed. She had been told that the Professor, Scott, Ororo, and Logan were also here and she desperately wanted to see them all. She carefully threw her legs over the bed and then winced at the pain in her right leg. Jean made a small groan of pain as she tried to stand but it was much too hard and painful to do so. She then grasped her leg with both hands and began gently rubbing it. As she continued, Jean didn't know that her eyes were turning orange. Then her hands began to glow as she continued to tightly hold her injured leg. She smiled as slowly, the pain went away. She stopped rubbing her leg and her eyes went back to their normal color as did her hands. Jean got up and to her amazement, her leg now felt fine.

Back in the main lab, Moira continued speaking to the group.

"I would like to keep her here for a day, maybe two. Just to make sure everything else is fine."

No one said a word. Xavier, Scott, Logan, and Ororo were now looking at something behind her. Moira turned around to see Jean standing at the entrance of her room, a bright smile on her face.

"Jean. You should be in bed," Moira said as she went to her side. "Your leg-"

"My leg's fine. I healed it somehow."

Jean walked further in, no limp, no signs at all of being in any pain.

"How did you-"

"I don't know."

Jean then looked over at Scott who then quickly rushed over at her and took her in his arms.

"Are you alright? I didn't hurt you did I?" Jean asked, concerned.

"It's you I'm worried about."

"I'm fine. I feel great actually."

As Scott let go of her, Ororo came over to greet her friend.

"Jean."

Tears came to her eyes as Ororo threw her arms around the other woman's neck.

"I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Jean said, returning the hug.

The two let go of each other and Jean then looked to Logan who was standing quietly against the wall, just watching her. She walked over to him, the two of them just stared at each other for a moment before Logan finally spoke.

"Welcome back."

Jean then closed the distance between the two and gave him a hug. She then turned her attention to the last person there. Xavier had watched the reunion between them all stone faced when Jean walked over and now stood in front of him.

"What's wrong, Professor?"

Xavier shook his head.

"I just can't believe what I'm seeing."

Jean smiled.

"Well, seeing is believing."

She leaned down to hug him as well. Xavier returned it as a bright smile came to his face. He had gotten one of his students, one of his children back.


	15. Coming to Terms

XXXXXXXXX

Pitor and Jubilee were sitting next to each other in front of the Danger Room controls. Pitor went over each level, the task of each session, the length, and just how difficult it was. So far, they had reached level eight with nine and ten still waiting to be discovered.

"So, what was level eight?" Jubilee asked.

"We had to fight a bunch of bad CGI-looking aliens," Pitor answered. "They were called 'The Brood' if I remember correctly."

"You're kidding me? Did it simulate a space station or something?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Jubilee's face beamed brightly.

"That sounds awesome."

"It was stupid. Since when are we going to be doing any missions in outer space?"

Pitor then rubbed his head as Jubilee stared at him strangely.

"Are you okay? All day you've seemed kind of…sad."

"It's nothing," Pitor then took a deep breath, "It's just…today would have been my parents twenty-fifth wedding anniversary."

"Oh."

Jubilee knew that most of the kids at the school had some sort of difficult family situations due to being a mutant. Either that or their parents didn't even know. Jubilee felt horrible for them, especially since her parents had treated her the same as before they found out she was a mutant.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She then asked.

Pitor laughed weakly.

"I have an older brother who is also a mutant...Mikhail is his name. He killed our parents. And for no reason, other than the fact that they were human."

"What happened to your brother?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen him since that day. For his sake, he better hope I never see him again."

Jubilee rested against him.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. It doesn't always hurt." Pitor looked at her as Jubilee gazed back at him with her bright eyes. "Eventually, you know that they're in a better place." Then, slowly, awkwardly…they kissed. After a few seconds Jubilee pulled away and Pitor looked worried, believing he just did the wrong thing.

"Okay…I wasn't expecting that…"

She considered saying more, but quickly decided against it and just kiss the large Russian teenager again, more deeply this time.

"Hey guys."

Pitor and Jubilee jumped apart and looked to the doorway in aggravation as Warren stood there with a big grin on his face.

"Guess who's here."

"You have such great timing," Jubilee snapped.

"Turn about is fair play," Warren smirked, remembering earlier in the day when Jubilee had interrupted him and Kitty. The two then got up and followed Warren back into the main part of the mansion. He led them to the study where Hank McCoy was sitting and talking with Kitty just as all three of them walked in.

"Dr. McCoy!" Jubilee shouted.

Hank laughed.

"Pitor, Jubilee. How have you been?"

"Just fine," Pitor answered.

They took a seat on the couch across from their old teacher.

"Good. So, where is the Professor?"

"Couldn't tell you," Warren shrugged. "He left, with Logan and Ororo this morning. They've been gone all day."

"They haven't attempted to contact you?"

"Nope."

"Hmm," Hank thought out loud. "I wonder what could have been so important. Nothing major has occurred that I'm aware of."

"So why did you decide to drop in?" Kitty asked.

"Well, I've been given an assignment from the president. I was hoping for their help."

"Help with what?"

"I'm going to go speak with a group of mutants we've just recently found out about who are currently living underground in tunnels. I need a little back up, just in case they become hostile."

"Warren and I will help you," Kitty assured him. "And Pitor, Bobby, and Rogue will go too."

Jubilee narrowed her eyes at the other girl.

"What about me?"

"You're not a part of the team yet."

"I've gotta start somewhere. Just how bad can this be?" Jubilee then looked at Hank and pleaded. "Please Dr. McCoy? I did my first session in the Danger Room today."

"The beginner's session," Warren remarked.

"Shut it!"

She went to flick his ear again but Warren dodged that move. Hank sighed.

"Play nice, children."

They all looked to him, looking a little offended by his choice of words.

"Well, I guess it's alright," Hank shrugged. "But when we get down there, stay in back of us. Don't do a thing until I tell you to."

Jubilee nodded.

"I promise."

As they continued to talk, inside of Bobby's bedroom, Rogue was sitting with her boyfriend on his bed. Bobby sat against the wall while Rogue was resting against his chest. They were watching a play list of funny videos on a laptop. But after a few videos went by Bobby stopped laughing along with her and his attention seemed somewhere else. Rogue moved her head to look back at her boyfriend and saw that he was staring at the shark zippo lighter on the nightstand. It was still there, not moved an inch since the night Rogue gave it to him. She then paused the video.

"Bobby, what's been going on with you?"

That seemed to snap Bobby out of his thoughts as Rogue got up and shifted her position so that she was now facing him.

"Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"Come on. I didn't want to say anything but you've been acting weird ever since I gave you that lighter."

Bobby moved his head away as he could no longer meet her stare but Rogue reached out and gently placed a gloved hand on Bobby's cheek, holding him in place.

"This is kinda how you were after we got back from Alkali Lake, after what went on with your family. But only…worse this time. Something is going on with you, why won't you tell me?"

Bobby now looked uncomfortable, like he wanted to be anyplace but here at that moment.

"Rogue…I…I'm…" he began, but couldn't get out what he wanted to tell her.

Rogue's mind immediately went to the worst.

"What? You want to break up with me?"

"No, it's not that."

"Then what?"

Bobby took a deep breath before getting up. Rogue watched him as he then took a seat on the edge of the bed.

"It's John," he finally admitted. "I should have said something. Maybe if he knew that someone cared, he wouldn't have left. If I had just been honest."

"Sometimes that isn't enough. Sometimes people leave, despite how much we care for them," Rogue said. She got up and sat next to him, placing a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him. "You can't blame yourself for John going with Magneto. It was his choice."

Bobby laughed, high and tight.

"That's not what I meant."

"What do you mean?" Rogue asked, now starting to get frustrated. Why wouldn't he just tell her what the problem was?

Leaning forward, Bobby rested his forehead against his hand before taking another deep breath.

"I don't know how to say it."

For a long moment, Rogue had no idea what he was talking about...but then she understood. She had after all, absorbed him and John both. Rogue had never dug much into their memories but the Bobby in her head now gave her the answer the real Bobby couldn't vocalize.

"You loved him."

Upon saying that, Bobby then suddenly launched his hands forward and two small balls of ice went straight across the room, shattering once they hit the opposite wall, causing Rogue to jump at the sudden movement. Bobby was now looking down at his hands in shock.

Flesh had been replaced by living ice.

"I think I need a doctor," he gasped as he got to his feet.

Rogue then quickly got up and went to his side, eyes gapping as she looked down at his hands.

"Oh my god! Bobby!"

"I'm going to go stick my hands in the freezer."

Bobby quickly hurried out of the room with Rogue trailing right after him.

XXXXXXXX

After Gambit brought Pyro inside and properly introduced them, Sinister led Pyro into the practice room and closed the doors behind them so they could talk in private. Pyro couldn't help it, but he couldn't get himself to look at the other mutant as he had been so taken aback by his appearance. He cleared his throat and began to speak.

"So, Gambit told me that you can make mutants stronger."

"Did he now?" Sinister smirked.

"How do you do it?"

"I can genetically alter your mutant gene in order to amplify your powers. But the cost is high."

"How much?"

"I'm not talking about money."

"Then what?"

"Your DNA. And a small favor you will owe me."

"Okay. So, you can help me?" Pyro asked.

"That depends," Sinister replied.

"On what?"

"On how desperate you are."

"I'm not desperate."

Sinister laughed.

"I see it in your eyes. You are reckless, amoral, dangerous. You've gone from place to place, group to group."

"You reading my mind?" Pyro then asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't have to."

"It's my business."

"Arguably, yes. But it does make me wonder what it is that you are looking for. Or perhaps, what it is you're running away from."

"I'm not doing either," Pyro snapped. "If I'm not getting what I need from a place I'm at, I don't cry about it. I just move on and look for it somewhere else. I've got no use for sentiment."

Sinister then looked over at him.

"Show me."

The younger mutants brows furrowed.

"What?"

"Your power. Show me."

Pyro flicked open his lighter and formed a fireball in his hand. Sinister however didn't look impressed.

"That's it?"

"What?" Pyro asked. That had been enough for Magneto, what did this guy expect from him?

"You can manipulate fire. You can make it do anything you want, anything you can think of. Surely you can do better than just a fireball."

Thinking for a moment, Pyro then shot a stream of flame into the air, than concentrated. It was rare that he had the chance to truly show-off. Carefully, the flame grew and spread out, taking the form of a fire-serpent. The training room was lit up in orange and yellow as Sinister looked up at the creature of flame and a grin slowly came to his face. The serpent began flying around the room while Sinister continued to watch, a little mesmerized until Pyro started to become worn out.

It took a lot of concentration and energy to make a solid creature of fire and it took a lot out of him. Pyro kept the creature going for as long as he could before the flames dissipated. Slowly, Sinister turned to look at Pyro as a sick smile slowly appeared on his face. This boy was a living, breathing, weapon of mass destruction. Sinister then had Pyro come with him to the laboratory and to take his shirt off. Pyro layed down on a table as Sinister prepared his machine. 

He watched him with weary eyes, then asked;

"Are you going to give me anesthesia?"

"It has its uses, but no. You need to be awake as your body goes through the process."

Pyro swallowed nervously.

"I'll...I'll still be me when this is over right? There will be no damage?"

"Of course not. I'll need you just the way you are, Pyro. So that you can keep your side of the bargain."

Suddenly, two metal tentacles unfurled and came up on either side of him. They attached themselves to the sides of Pyro's neck through two tiny needles. He gasped a little from the pain. An odd tingling sensation then shot through Pyro's body as he arched his back up. His body then relaxed itself before his hands began to tremble uncontrollably then his legs followed. He began breathing heavily as his body continued to spasm. Pyro's fingertips then began to glow red. As did his chest, then it traveled up his neck. A bright orange-yellow flame then bursted from the palms of both hands. The new power flowed through his entire body.

He could now create fire.

XXXXXXXXX

Hank was getting ready to turn in for the night. He had told the 'X-Kids' to get some rest and that they would take up their task sometime tomorrow. But just as he was about to close the door Rogue came running down the hall and came to a screetching halt in front of him.

"Dr. McCoy, thank god you're here!"

"Rogue." He then looked at her gloved hands. "So I take it you haven't…"

Rogue shook her head as she looked at her hands. She rememberd Dr. McCoy giving her the last sample of the mutant cure.

"Oh, no. I still have it, but…" she trailed off before remembering the reason she came to him in the first place. "Something happened to Bobby."

"What is it?" Hank asked as he walked out of his room and began following the teenage girl.

"His hands, his fingers. They're ice. Completely ice, he has no flesh at all on his hands."

"Where is he?"

"He's down in the walk in freezer and he refuses to come out."

Rogue's eyes then lowered to the floor as she couldn't help but laugh a little at the double meaning of her words. They kept going until they reached the kitchen. Hank walked over to the door of the walk in freezer and knocked on it lightly.

"Bobby? It's Dr. McCoy. Are you okay?"

He didn't get a response which caused him to frown.

I'm going to come in, okay?"

Hank opened the door then closed in behind him He was surrounded by a bunch of frozen food and drinks when he looked to the end of the freezer. His eyes widened. Bobby stood, living ice covering his entire body from head to toe. Hank looked over his appearance, shocked. He truly was an Iceman.

Bobby looked over his own appearance. 

"Dr. McCoy," he began.

"Oh my stars and garters…" Hank muttered.


	16. Invasion of Proteus

XXXXXXXXX

Scott had just gotten done showering and was now standing in front of a mirror, shaving with an electric razor. Once finished, he threw on a t-shirt and opened the door, stepping into the spare bedroom Moira was letting Jean and him share for the night. Jean was staring at an oil painting up on the wall. It was of a phoenix bird rising up into a night sky with bright stars with yellowish-gold flames surrounded the bird. Scott walked up next to her to look at the painting as well.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Jean said as she turned her head to him and smiled. "The phoenix...a mythical bird. It dies in flames only to be reborn again from it's ashes. It's life incarnate, now and forever."

"That's kind of how you rose up out of the lake. Like a phoenix."

"Really?"

"Yes. It was quite a sight to see. One I'll never forget," Scott smiled back as he wrapped his arms around her waist. 

"Should that be my name then?"   
Scott's brows furrowed.

"What?"

A small grin came to Jean's face as she turned to face him, while still being held in his embrace. 

"My codename. I never did have one like the rest of you," she reminded.

"You never could come up with one."

"Well now I am."

"Alright...Phoenix. It sounds good to me."

She then reached out and stroked the side of Scott's face.

"Thanks for shaving. You looked terrible. Now all we have to do is trim your hair."

"Yeah, well. It's been hard without you."

"What made you come back to Alkali Lake?"

Scott took a deep breath.

"I kept having these visions of you drowning, crying out to me to save you. I wasn't sure whether that was really you calling me telepathically through our bond or if I was going crazy."

"I'm so sorry," Jean said, shaking her head.

"For what?"

"It sounds like I was tormenting you. I'm sorry, I didn't know that I was doing it."

"You have nothing to apologize for. It's what led me back to you."

He reached out and took her hands in his. They just stared at each other for a few moments, Jean looking intently at Scott's sunglasses before saying;

"There's something I…"

"What is it?"

"I've always wanted to see your eyes."

Scott cocked his head at Jean.

"Jean…you know that I can't."

"I can't explain it, but I feel different. I can control it, I know I can."

She then slowly reached up towards his glasses but Scott took a step back.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Trust me. I want you to be able to see me."

Jean stepped towards him and reached up to remove his glasses. He allowed her to but Scott's eyes remained closed as Jean then put her palms up to his temples, Jeans eyes were now glowing orange again.

"It's alright, Scott. You won't hurt me," Jean assured.

Scott slowly opened his eyes. For a moment they flash red, then the red light of his optic beams dims down, as if it was being pushed back into his eyes, until it all but disappears revealing a pair of clear, blue eyes. Scott blinked and and stared in astonishment. He looked around left and right, seeing the world in full color for the first time since he was teenager.

"Wow…"

Scott put his gaze and full attention back on Jean. He was awed at seeing her in full color for the very first time. Jean smiled as she set the sunglasses down on the dresser.

"I just healed your eyes. You'll never have to wear those again."

"How did you...?"

Jean looked down at her hands.

"I really don't know. I feel...like I can do anything. Anything I can think of." She looked up at him. "This doesn't make any sense."

"The Professor and Moira will figure things out in the morning."

Scott then took a step towards her and placed his hands on the sides of her face.

"Until then..."

He then moved closer and kissed her deeply. Jean returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. Slowly the two of them began moving backwards until they fell to side, landing softly on the bed.

Meanwhile, Logan stood by the refrigerator with a glass of water in hand. It was almost midnight by he couldn't sleep, not after a day like this. Just when he raised the glass to his mouth did his old instincts take over him. He got the feeling that someone was close he turned his head to see who it was who had joined him in the room, it was to his surprise to see a small blonde haired teenager, maybe fourteen or fifteen.

The boy was awfully pale and had a strange look in his eyes. Logan didn't know how to respond, he had no idea that anyone else was on the island.

"Hey. What's your name, kid?"

"Proteus," the boy's voice was almost robotic. 

"Right," Logan said as he raised an eyebrow. "Tell me that isn't your real name."

"Who are you? Where's my mom?"

"Uhh…" Logan then wondered if he was Moira's kid. "Moira MacTaggert. Is she your mom?"

Kevin didn't respond, he just continued to stare at him with his dark, almost black eyes. Logan shifted uncomfortably as he cleared his throat.

"Listen, it's late kid. Can you go back to bed, you're freaking me out."

Again, Kevin didn't say a word. Logan sighed before putting his glass down and walked out of the kitchen. Kevin didn't move, he just watched him until he was out of sight. Ororo was standing outside on the patio, watching the stars of the night sky when she heard the door open. She took a quick glance behind her to see that it was Logan coming outside before she returned her gaze to the sky.

"I guess I'm not the only one who can't sleep tonight."

Logan walked up to stand next to her.

"Yeah, it's been a hell of a day."

"It's still hard to believe isn't it? Jean's alive…it's a miracle."

Logan nodded but didn't say anything. Ororo turned her head to look at him and she could see that there was definitely something that was bothering him. And she knew what is was.

"You're still looking at her the same way."

"Am I?"

"She'll never love you the way you want her to," Ororo finished.

"Yeah, I know." Logan then sighed. "Girls flirt with the dangerous guy. They don't take him home."

"What?"

"They marry a good guy," Logan finished.

"I'm not following you."

He sighed heavily as he recalled the conversation he had with Jean the night before the events of Alkali Lake.

"It's what Jean told me. That's why she chose Scott."

Ororo could have laughed at that.

"Jean has been together with Scott ever since they were teenagers, Logan. Nothing or no one could break that relationship."

"No, it's not just that. She knew that I wasn't a good guy."

Ororo then stepped in front of him. A look of disbelief was now on her face.

"You think you're a bad guy? Even after all you've done since you've been with us?"

"I may not remember all of my past, but I know enough about what I did. And good people don't do those kind of things."

Ororo took a step closer to Logan. She reached out and put a hand on his wrist.

"You know the good thing about not remembering your past? Whatever you were, whatever you did , it doesn't matter now. You get another chance to choose who you want to be. And you chose correctly this time around."

Logan glanced away from Ororo. He really didn't know how to respond.

"Maybe you should stop pining for a lost love and look at what's standing right in front of you."

His brows furrowed as he looked back at her. She was staring at him like she was waiting for him to make a move.

"Ororo-"

Unbeknownst to him, Kevin was standing in the open doorway, looking upon the two of them. He was glaring heavily at Logan, who then suddenly gasped as he felt the strange invasion of his body. Logan's eyes then rolled up in the back of his head.

"Logan!" Ororo screamed.

Logan then lunged at her, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders. Ororo gasped in surprise and struggled, trying to get away from him. Logan then picked her up and threw her, causing her to crash through a glass table that was sitting on the patio.

SKINT!

Logan's claws then unearthed from his knuckles as he began walking towards the fallen woman and kicked her in the stomach, knocking the air right out of her. Having no choice but to defend herself, Ororo crawled backwards though the glass as she began summoning up a lightning bolt. The sky flashed and rumbled as thunder went off around the island. Finally, a bolt of lightning came down and struck Logan in the chest, causing him to fly backwards and crash through the glass windows, sending him back into the facility. Back in their bedroom, the noise caused both Scott and Jean to separate from each other, both looked startled.

"What was that?" Scott said.

Outside, Ororo trembled as she slowly walked towards Logan's body, feeling both fear and concern as she looked down at him. Suddenly, Logan lunged up to his feet and stabbed Ororo in the stomach as she screamed in terror. Running out of her room after hearing the commotion, Moira saw her son standing in the hallway and then looked on to see Logan standing over Ororo.

"Oh god, Kevin stop!"

Moira ran to him just as Xavier appeared in his wheelchair and focused his powers on the child. Kevin's eyes gazed over as he collapsed in his mother's arms. Logan looked like he was about to stab Ororo again but stopped just in time as his eyes went back to normal. He looked down in shock as he saw Ororo with a wound from his claws. Scott and Jean then ran towards them as Ororo continued to breathe deeply, tears of pain coming down her cheeks.

"What the hell did you do, Logan!?" Scott shouted.

"I don't know, I couldn't stop myself!"

"Let's get her on a table," Xavier said.

"No, wait." Jean spoke.

Jean then focused her powers on the wound. She raised her hand to Ororo's stomach and her hand began to glow with telekinetic energy. Ororo gasped as her back arched off the ground and after a second, the pain went away. The wounds had been healed. Xavier watched the whole thing in amazement and looked at Jean. However, Logan turned and snapped at Moira;

"What the hell was that!? What did your kid do to me!?"

"I'm sorry, I thought the medication I gave him earlier would have kept him calm. He can possess people, that's his mutation." Moira looked around at them all. "I'm so sorry, I should have told all of you."

"Yeah, that would have been a good idea."

He then carefully reached down and picked Ororo up in his arms, carrying her away. Moira watched him before looking back at the others.

"I'm so sorry," she said again.

"It's alright," Xavier assured. "I'm keeping Kevin stable for now. Let's just all go back to sleep, we'll clean this up in the morning."

Jean then went to help Moira with her son when Xavier looked at Scott's face and did a double take.

"Scott, your eyes. What happened to your eyes?"

"Jean healed them earlier."

Scott then took a deep breath as he put his hands on his hips. By the look on the Professor's face, he was probably thinking the same thing he was.

"Professor, how is Jean doing all this?"

"I wish I had an answer, Scott. She's grown more powerful than I could have ever imagined."

"But she's still Jean...right?"

Xavier took a deep breath.

"Let us hope."

XXXXXXXXX

Sinister stood before the Marauders he had Gambit assemble for him. It was now time.

"Gambit. Pyro. Havok. Riptide. Harpoon. Scrambler. I forge you all into the deadliest and most destructive force this world has ever seen. From his day forth, you are the Marauders. I offer you power beyond imagination. Even more than I have already given you."

"What do you need us for?" Riptide asked. "What do you want us to do?"

"A culling of the herd."

"What does that mean?" Havok asked.

"I believe that you all are familiar with Darwin's theory of evolution and survival of the fittest. We mutants are the top of the food chain, the highest rung on the evolutionary ladder. But it seems that some mutants out there passing their genes on are the wrong sort. They are known as Morlocks and they currently live beneath the ground. I look to all of you to snuff out these weakest links."

Pyro was now staring at him in disbelief.

"You want us to kill a bunch of innocent, defenseless mutants?"

They are hardly innocent, and far from defenseless," Sinister responded. "Not to mention that most of them weren't even real to begin with."

"Not real? What does that mean, not real?" Scrambler asked.

"They were a creation of mine, a failed science experiment. I wouldn't even give them a second thought but unfortunately I discovered they have the ability to reproduce. If these rouge strands of work aren't dealt with, the Morlocks will continue on, contaminating the mutant gene pool. We can not allow that."

None of the Marauders looked at each other nor said a word. They just took in what had been told to them.

"I have a stratojet waiting for us. It's time to go."

The Marauders all filed out one by one, all except for Gambit who was just staring at the floor in shock. He honestly looked like he may be sick.

"You never told me this was the reason I was gathering these mutants for you."

Sinister approached him. Reaching out, he brushed Gambit's cheek with his hand.

"Gambit-"

"No!" Gambit took a step back and began shaking his head. "I don't want...I can't. It would kill me."

"What would?"

"Killing. I can't do it again. It's what messed everything up for me in the first place."

"So, don't kill." Sinister took another soft step toward him. Gambit stiffened, but didn't back away. "You don't have to kill, Gambit. The Marauders you've assembled can handle that. There are other things you can do. More useful things. I don't need another weapon."

"So what do you need?"

"I need an accomplice."

"An accomplice?"

"Yes. I never intended for you to be a weapon, my son. Certainly one day I hope you can be sharpened to a lethal edge, but I don't plan for that day to come for a long time. If I can help it, the day it's needed will never come. I'll be here, I can be the executioner."

Gambit took a deep breath.

"I just want to go back to New Orleans. I want to try and fix things-"

"You were exiled from New Orleans, Gambit. You know that. There's nothing you can do that will change things. You have no where else to go but to me."

"What do you want me to do?"

Sinister grinned.

"While the Marauders deal with the Morlocks, we will take what we need from the X-Men. And when it is done, they will see that evolution has just passed them by."


	17. The Morlock Massacre

XXXXXXXX

Lightning came down and struck a plane that a family of four was in, heading for a vacation to Alaska, causing it to catch fire and begin to shake rapidly. The top of the aircraft now had a hole in it and strong winds rushed inside. Loose objects inside of the plane began getting sucked out, including two parachutes. Christopher Summers struggled with the controls as he desperately tried to keep the plane up long enough to get his kids safely out.

"Come on, you've got to hurry!" He yelled to his wife, Katherine. "Get them out of here!"

Katherine pushed against the furious wind as she quickly fastened the only two parachutes left to her thirteen year old son Scott, and her other son, eight year old Alex. She gave each a hug before pulling away, looking at them both with eyes full of sorrow.

"Take care of each other."

Scott and Alex held hands as they jumped out of the plane. Once he was in the air, Scott pulled the ripcord and was violently pulled up. As he slowed, he then looked up in horror as the plane exploded. Pieces of burning debris came flying down. A piece caught Scott's parachute and burned a hole through it.

A terrified Scott looked down as the ground grew closer...and closer...

and closer...

XXXXXXXXX

"Uhh..."

The young boy stirred as he began to wake from his coma. Bandages were wrapped around his eyes. A man in a white lab coat then walked into the room as the nurse who had been looking after him left.

"Hello, Scott. How are you feeling? My name is Dr. Nathaniel Essex."

"Where am I? What happened?" Scott gasped. 

A hint of pain and sorrow passed through the eyes of the doctor for a brief moment.

"You're in Alaska, Scott. At a hospital." 

"Where are my parents? And Alex?"

Nathaniel carefully reached out to grab Scott's hand as the boy sat up.

"Scott, you and you're family were in a plane crash," he explained. "You're the only one who survived. You've actually been in a coma for some time now."

Scott then cried out in horror as the memories came flooding back. Tears streamed down Scott's face as leaned down and he hugged his legs, burring his face in his knees. Sobs shook his small frame as Nathaniel wrapped an arm around him, trying his best to comfort the boy. He then managed to choke out;

"How long has it been?"

"A year and two months."

Scott continued to sob as he reached up and began to feel his face.

"What is this? Why can't I see anything?"

"Wait, Scott!"

Scott pulled the bandages from his eyes and an optic beam fired from them, punching a hole through the ceiling.

XXXXXXXXXXX

A mustang pulled up outside of an orphanage. Dr. Nathaniel Essex stared at the large building and sighed before looking over at Scott who was sitting in the passenger seat with his eyes closed. Reaching into his jacket's pocket, Dr. Essex placed a pair of ruby red glasses on Scott. The world is a fuzzy shade of red. He could barely make out the figure of the person in front of him, but his vision clears rapidly.

"Always remember who gave you your first pair of glasses."

That was the last voice he heard in his dream. Inside the bedroom at the mutant research center, Scott suddenly bolted upright in bed, overcome in sweat as he breathed rapidly. His actions also woke Jean from her sleep.

"Scott? Are you alright? Scott?"

Jean was by his side as Scott rubbed his eyes.

"Oh god, what a nightmare," he muttered.

"What was it?"

"The plane accident," Scott took a deep breath. "Jesus, I haven't thought about it for years. Why now?"

"Your accident?" She placed her hands on his shoulders as she then though back to what she did earlier that evening. "I hope it wasn't something I did."

Scott looked over at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe when I healed you I accidentally unlocked a memory."

"No." Scott shook his head as he placed his hands on hers. "No. It was nothing you did."

They sat quietly together as Jean began to rub his shoulders while Scott just stared at the floor trying to calm down before muttering to himself;

"Alex."

"Your younger brother?"

"Yeah...I miss him the most."

After a few more minutes the couple went back to bed. When morning came, Xavier and Moira were looking at the two different results from Jean's CAT scans. The first one she did which showed that damage to Jean's leg, and the second one, which showed her leg completely healed. They also went over the results of blood test, EKG, every test that Moira had administered to Jean. Every test came back normal. Outside the facility, Logan and Ororo boarded the jet as they were preparing to go.

"You're sure you're doing the right thing?" Moira asked the Professor. "You know you can stay for as long as you need."

"I don't think there's any reason to stay longer. Jean is fine, physically. As far as the...advancement in her abilities, there's really nothing more you can do. There's no test that is going to give us the answers. And I have a school full of students to get back to."

"So what could have caused it? What do you think?"

Xavier looked at Moira.

"I do have a theory. I think that Erik was indirectly responsible for this."

Moira looked at the Professor with a quizzical look. Before she could ask what he meant by that she looked down the hallway to see that Jean was talking with her son. Kevin was leaning against the wall with a far-away look in his eyes, paying no mind to the woman who was currently leaning down right in front of him.

"Hi there," Jean smiled, but the boy didn't respond. "Kevin," She continued, "I need you to stay still for just a second, okay?"

Jean then carefully put her hand up and touched Kevin's forehead with her fingers. They began to glow and after just a few seconds, the dark look in the young teens eyes went away and a bright smile came to his face. Kevin looked to where his mom was standing and ran over to her.

"Mom, I'm hungry. Can we have French toast?"

"Oh...sure, Kevin. I'll start making it in a minute."

Kevin nodded before heading off in the direction of the kitchen. Jean then came towards them as Moira looked to her in bewilderment.

"What did you do?"

"Kevin had psychosis, didn't he?" Jean asked.

"Yes," Moira nodded.

Jean smiled.

"Not anymore. He'll be just fine from now on."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Go see."

While the Professor and Jean left the facility, Moira slowly walked in the kitchen to find her son waiting patiently at the table.

"Kevin...?"

He turned his head to look at her and smiled.

"Yeah?"

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine."

She knelt down in front of him and put her hands on either side of his head so she could more carefully at him. Kevin looked more calm and relaxed than she had ever seen him. He seemed...normal.

"Really?"

"What's wrong with you?" Kevin asked, confused by his mom's questioning.

"Nothing." Moira then wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for a hug as tears trickled from her eyes. "Nothing's wrong. Everything is fine."

Outside, the X-Jet slowly lifted off the ground and once it was at a high enough point, it took off into the sky. Back at the institute, Rogue walked into the study just as Hank hung up the phone and now had a look on his face of clear aggravation.

"Damn it."

"What's wrong?" Rogue asked.

"I have a deadline now, I can not longer wait for the Professor. My chief of staff just informed me that the secretary of defense is planning on sending armed forces down into the tunnels if the Morlocks aren't out of there soon. I don't understand why he's so hell-bent on starting a conflict."

"We'll help you, Hank."

"Yes, I know you all can handle yourselves. I just hate the thought of leaving the other kids alone."

He got to his feet.

"Okay, I'm gonna go try to talk to Bobby one more time. Also, find someone responsible to look after things until we get back."

Rogue nodded.

"Sure thing."

After changing with the rest of the team into uniform, Rogue found Theresa Cassidy, also known by her mutant name, Siryn.

"Hopefully we'll by gone for no more than an hour. If the Professor comes back while we're gone, give him this." Rogue handed Siryn a map of Manhattan and a circle around the location the group was heading to.

"No problem," Siryn said, accepting the responsibility. "Don't worry about us, we'll be fine."

In the walk-in-freezer, Bobby was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall of the freezer, still looking like an ice-sculpture you'd see in the winter time. Hank knelt down in front of him.

"Bobby, I am very certain you can change your appearance back to normal. I know you've never done this before but mutants like yourself discover all the time things they didn't know they could do with their ability."

"I tried changing back after my hands froze but the ice kept spreading. Now look at me," Bobby responded while stretching out his arms.

"You look incredible, are you kidding?"

"Yeah, until I leave this freezer and eventually start to melt."

"Maybe the reason you can't change back is because you're in this freezer," Hank theorized. "I know you're scared, you've just gotta trust me."

Bobby didn't look convinced. Hank sighed and glanced down at his watch.

"Bobby, I'm sorry, I have to go for now. I promise I will be back soon and we will figure this out."

Hank left the kitchen area and headed out the foyer where the hummer he drove to get here was with the 'X-Kids' sitting in wait. Hank got into the hummer and closed the door. Rogue, Colossus, Archangel, Jubilee, and Shadowcat all the looked at each other in confusion as they just continued to sit. Hank then glanced at them all.

"Seatbelts."

The younger members of the team all rolled their eyes but did what they were told as Hank finally started up the vehicle and began driving it to their destination.

XXXXXXXXXX

The jet that Sinister had piloted had settled on the ground on the outskirts of Battery Park as the Marauders all prepared themselves.

"So, how are we going to know where to go once we get down there?" Riptide asked.

"I wouldn't worry about that. One of you actually lived among them once. Isn't that right, Pyro?"

The rest of the team turned to him as Pyro narrowed his eyes. He didn't like that Sinister had been apparently reading his mind.

"Very briefly when I was younger," Pyro explained. "I was living on the streets when a couple of them found me. They took me down in the tunnels to stay with them. I was with them for only a couple of months, max."

"You'll do just fine."

Sinister then approached him with something in his hand. He then placed at red mask over Pyro's face. It covered most of it, but left his mouth exposed.

"You'll be my chief executioner for this assignment."

The Marauders then exited the jet which then quickly took off back into the air. Sinister had told them he would come to pick them up once he and Gambit finished a mission of their own. The group kept walking until they reached an access hatch down on the ground. This was the main entrance to the largest Morlock tunnel, known as "The Alley" by the underground residents. Buried a mile beneath city of New York and running the entire length of Manhattan. Pyro opened it up. There was a ladder mounted on the side that would take them all the way down. Havok looked around at his teammates.

"You guys sure you want to do this?"

"I will gladly do it," Harpoon said while raising his chin. "I would consider it my duty."

"Screw it, " Pyro spoke as he turned to leave. "I'm outta here."

"You can't!" Scrambler shouted.

Pyro turned back around and through the eye-holes of his mask, gave the smaller mutant a challenging look.

"Oh yeah? Who's gonna stop me?"

"You don't get it. Sinister has your DNA. If you turn against him he'll shut your body down. You'll be trapped in a coma-like state only you'll be completely self-aware, a prisoner in your own body."

Pyro was taken aback by that, and by judging the look on their faces, the rest of the Marauders were too.

"Didn't Sinister say they weren't real people?" Havok asked himself out loud. "They are just a science experiment gone wrong?"

Pyro sighed.

"Yeah well, that's another thing. Just how much of a whack-job is this guy?"

"Whack-job or not, he did amplify all of our powers," Riptide reminded them all. "And he does have the right idea about us being at the top of the food-chain. I would rather be with Sinister then against him."

"Fine. Christ already, let's just get this over with," Pyro growled with aggravation.

One by one, they began climbing down the ladder until they were standing in a dimly-lit labyrinth of an abandoned concrete passageway filled with graffiti, crumbling walls, and other unknown dangers. The Marauders walked through the tube shaped structure, rock on either side and above them. They kept going until finally reaching the entrances of three different passageways.

"Now what?" Havok sighed.

"It's okay, I remember this," Pyro said as he glanced over the three entrances. "I'll take the middle, Scrambler and Havok, take the one on the left. Riptide and Harpoon, take the one on the right. Just keep heading straight. Eventually they all lead to a place called the den, it's the largest area. Usually that's where most of the Morlocks hang around."

They did as Pyro said and split up. Down through the first passageway, a young mutant with pinkish skin walked along the tunnel with the shadow of a puppy guiding him along the way.

"I know you're there, Rebecca."

A wave of shadows then disappeared as Silhouette was now standing before him with a smile on her face.

"Hey Bliss. Shadow puppies are the cutest."

"Yeah, they are," Bliss grinned at her.

The brown haired girl looked down at the shadow puppy as it continued to run around until it too vanished. Bliss then kissed her as something began to go up her inner thigh. Silhouette gasped as Bliss' right arm had been replaced with a tentacle.

"You like, do you? Maybe later, you'll get another kiss. Won't that be nice?"

A spear was then hurled through the air and pierced right through the chest of Bliss. Silhouette screamed as a weapon stabbed her as well, right in the mid-section. She fell to the ground and looked widely around for her attacker. Harpoon pulled up another spear as Riptide walked over and put a foot on her chest to stop her from possibly trying to get up and run.

"Please...please..." she managed.

"Don't try to fight. You'll just make things worse for yourself."

"Why at you doing this?" Silhouette choked out the words through tears and pain. Riptide however showed no signs of remorse.

"It's all in the best interest of science, little Morlock. At least take comfort in that."

In the middle passageway, Pyro suddenly came to a halt when he heard the blood-curdling scream of a young girl. Meanwhile in the 'den' of the tunnels, Callisto stood before a table, going over the plans of their next run.

"The food truck should be arriving at ten o'clock."

Caliban and Arclight were standing on either side of her. Spyke was also there with his younger lighter-skinned cousin, Marrow who had similar powers to his as she could use her bones as weapons.

"I think that Marrow should come with us tonight, Spyke," Callisto then said.

"I don't know," Spyke responded while looking down at the young girl. "She's still a little young."

"You're never too young to be taught how to survive."

Suddenly, the room shook violently which caused all of them to look at each other. Caliban however looked more frightened then the rest of them.

"What is it?" Callisto asked him.

"Something is coming. There are five intruders down here."

Back in the third passageway, Havok had just blasted two Morlocks, Bertam and Bouncer away. Their bodies lay on the ground, fried as smoke came off the two. Suddenly, Diamondback, a mutant with snake-like skin came at him and spat acid. Havok managed to dodge most of it but a little splashed off the wall and hit his right arm which began to burn him. Havok yelled out in pain as Scrambler quickly came at Diamondback, touching his neck which shut off his powers. Now filled with rage, Havok blasted the mutant with such force, it took him all the way to the ceiling, blasting him out into the street above.

The ground erupted upward, tossing a car into the air which crash landed in a diner. The hummer Beast was driving was only a few yards away. He quickly drove up and stopped at the large hole in the road and the X-Men filed out of the vehicle to gather around it. To their shock, Diamondback was buried under some debris. They began pulling it off of him and the snake-mutant coughed up blood. He was badly wounded and near death.

Beast crouched next to him. Diamondback opened one eye and stared at him. He noted his appearance.

"Help us. Strangers...in the alley...they kill...Morlocks...dying..." Diamondback managed to get out before he died. Beast now looked terrified.

"Oh my god," he gasped as he turned to the rest of the team. "Come on, we have to go down."

The X-Men then carefully began to climb down the large hole in the road. Down in the middle passageway, Pyro continued on he noticed that a passageway entrance was coming up on the right. He paid no mind to it while heading straight when suddenly he was thrown off-guard when someone jumped on his back. Pester, a mutant who had fangs for teeth was now biting him on the side of his neck. He reached back and threw her off just as Mole busted out from under the ground and grabbed Pyro's legs, knocking him down. Samson, Thorn, and Hump, several Morlock children then all came out of hiding and began pelting him with rocks. Pyro attempted to shield himself with his arms.

"Stop! Damn it, I don't want to hurt you!"

He then was then roughly grabbed and pulled up by his throat. Ent, a bulbous Morlock with large muscles and super-human strength was now choking the life out of him. Having no choice, Pyro raised both arms and released a wave of fire from both hands. All six Morlocks were engulfed and their bodies instantly turned to ash. Raising the back of his hand to his mouth, Pyro gagged at the smell before turning away from the horrific sight. He felt sick and once he was a good distance away, Pyro vomited.

In the second passageway, awakened from a peaceful sleep and forced from their mattresses by screams, blasts, and the shaking of the ground and walls in the second passageway; Morlock men, women, and children found themselves thrust into an unimaginable nightmare of terror. Suddenly facing the very real threat of extermination, the thing they all had feared may happen one day, they ran for their lives. Riptide blew through the tunnels, mowing down anyone in his way. His cyclonic spinning gave great velocity to the myriad arsenal of bladed weapons that Harpoon carried and tossed into the air. The blades sliced through flesh and bone at hundreds of miles an hour, cutting off arms and legs and even decapitating a few. Harpoon got anyone that was still alive, impaling and eviscerating them with his powered-up spears.

Spilled blood and guts littered the dirt floor as the mangled bodies of Erg, Piper, Tommy, Annalee, Cybelle, Zeek, Skids, Magik, Scaleface, and Blowhard lay in wake as The Marauders were getting closer and closer to the den. Lucid, a mutant who had a beaked face with yellow eyes and a mutant with the appearance and strength of a silverback gorilla, Ape had joined the others. Callisto and Arclight got ready as Marrow hid behind Spyke.

"Here they come," Caliban warned.

Arclight began sending shockwaves at the entrance of the den. Riptide, Harpoon, Havok, and Scrambler all crouched as large pieces of rock began falling down around them. Scramble looked to Riptide and grinned;

"They're all yours, Rip. Cut them loose from life."

Riptide laughed in glee and began his death spin. His momentum turned cyclonic and rotated into funnel form. He engulfed Arclight, cutting her to pieces. Spyke slammed Marrow to the ground, covering her body as his began to be cut up as well. Caliban was thrown backwards into the wall at a great speed as was Callisto. Running into the den, Havok blasted Lucid away, while Harpoon's spear impaled Ape's ribcage. Ape roared with fury, clutching the long handle of the charged weapon as he fell to the ground in agony, the weight of his intestines threating to pull away from his body.

Back through the second passageway, Beast was leading the way as everyone gasped and cried out in shock while stepping over the bodies. They all looked like they were either getting ready to cry or scream. They were doing their best not to look down at the horror of just what it was they were stepping over.

"Oh my god, how could someone do something like this?" Shadowcat cried.

"We better watch our backs or we'll find ourselves in the same way," Beast responded, wanting to keep the team on high-alert.

"This wasn't the military, was it?" Archangel asked.

Beast shook his head.

"No. It couldn't have been."

The sounds of the battling occurring in the den could be heard more clearly now as the X-Men finally reached the entrance. Riptide stopped spinning just in time to see the X-Men run into the area.

"Heads up, people! We've got trouble!"

The Marauders immediately began to attack the X-Men. Havok quickly nailed Beast with a strong blast of cosmic energy which sent him crashing backwards against the wall, knocking him unconscious. Shadowcat ran at him as he fired another blast of energy at her but she phased herself through it.

"What are you?" Havok asked, somewhat shocked. "A ghost?"

"No, worse. I'm a shadowcat and you can't touch me your murderer."

She ran at him and grabbed him around the waist, pulling him down through the ground, leaving him sunken in at the chest. She glared down at him.

"How can anyone be so cruel?"

Havok narrowed his eyes and blasted himself out from being stuck but he fell, crashing down to floor below.

Callisto, who possessed the gift advanced strength, speed, and stamina now stood back up, ready to assist the team. Scrambler tried to grab onto her but she landed a right cross to his chin. Scrambler fell to the ground, spitting out blood and a few teeth. Callisto then hit Harpoon with a crescent kick to the head which nearly knocked him out.

Riptide only shook his head at the scene.

"Oh you poor boys," Riptide mocked. "Need a rescue?"

The Marauder laughed maniacally as he began to spin wildly. Sharp objects and spikes flew through the air, cutting into everyone standing in their way. Callisto ended up getting stabbed through the chest by a sharp object. Colossus was the only one not affected by sharp objects so he tried to place himself between his teammates and the Marauders. Harpoon, kneeling at Colossus' feet, came up with another spear and slammed it into his chest, but the colossal X-Men held his place, making his stand as a white fire seemed to race through his metal form.

At that moment, Scrambler recovered and raced toward Rogue who grabbed onto him, ready to drain his powers. Instead, Scrambler reached up and grabbed onto Rogue's face. Because their mutant abilities were similar; his worked to disrupt mutant powers and she absorbed others powers, they ended up neutralizing each other and fell to the ground. Harpoon saw Rogue down and vulnerable and decided to take advantage of the opportunity. He threw a charged-up spear at her back but Shadowcat saw the attack coming. Her reaction was instinctive to protect Rogue. As the spear came in for its strike, she tackled Rogue and phased her teammate with her, praying that Harpoon's energy blast would pass right through them without harm.

It was a nice idea and it was the bravest of tries but when Rogue landed, she quickly noticed that Shadowcat didn't land right beside her.

"Kitty?" Rogue looked around widely but the other girl had disappeared. She was no where to be seen. "Kitty! Where are you!? Kitty!?"

No answer.

Archangel didn't have a lot of space to fly, but he did so in an attempt to distract the team's opponents. Harpoon glared at him before sending a charged up spear directly at his left wing. He screamed in agony as the spear impaled his wing, kept going and struck the wall, leaving him stuck. Archangel continued to scream as he tried to pull the spear out of his wing but could barely reach it.

"That's music to my ears, fly-boy," Harpoon sadistically laughed. "You sing just like a bird."

He then sent another spear at him, this time at the right wing, Archangel was now crucified to the wall. The pain made him pass out.

"Warren!" Jubilee screamed.

She then began shooting at Harpoon with her sparks. Riptide however took his attention off of Colossus, spun himself around to Jubilee's direction. The sharp winds sent an even sharper blade straight at the teenage girl and slashed her throat. Colossus could only watch as everything seemed to go in slow-motion.

"NO!"

Jubilee collapsed to the ground. Colossus quickly crawled over, grabbing her in his strong arms. Blood sprayed from the wound into Colossus' metal face. Jubilee looked up at him, she tried to say something but all that came out was a gurgle of blood. Jubilation Lee, the newest member of the X-Men was now dead.

Colossus seethed and gave Riptide a look of sheer mayhem.

"You care so much for that bitch?" Riptide laughed. "How about I send you to hell with her?"

"You go ahead and try." Colossus yelled in a rage.

"My hurricane force winds can even cut you down to size, my robust friend."

"You are NOT my friend!"

Riptide let loose with his speed again, but even as the spinning grew more in intensity, it wasn't able to stop the large mutant. Colossus clenched his teeth in fury as he snatched Riptide's throat with his steel grip. Riptide struggled to breath or to scream, digging at the metal vice around his neck.

CRACK!

Riptide's body went slack and the dead weight pulled the murdering Marauder to his knees.

"And you were wrong."

Colossus held him there by his broken neck and looked over his shoulder for his other opponent. Seeing Archangel pinned against the wall by his wings made him snarl at Harpoon who began to back away.

"Make peace with your maker, little man! You are next!"

Dropping Riptide's dead body to the ground, he went for Harpoon when he was suddenly engulfed in flame. Colossus swung around to see Pyro now standing there with flames in the palms of his hands.

"Tell me Colossus. At what temperature does steel begin to melt?"

He continued to concentrate all his power onto Colossus. The big steel mutant tried to walk forward but the flames were just to great and it forced him back until he was pressed against the wall. The blaze grew further and Colossus fell to his knees, passed out. Pyro continued on for another minute before finally pulling his fire away, leaving scorch marks on the once stainless steel of Colossus.

Pyro then saw the shadow of someone sneaking up on him. He swung around and nailed Rogue right in the face knocking her into unconsciousness. Pyro's eyes widened when he saw who he had just hit.

"Oh, shit."

Harpoon then raised a spear to bring down on her.

"No!" Pyro yelled while shoving the other mutant away. "We'll take her with us! Sinister can use her!"

It was the only thing he could think of that would spare her from his teammates. The rest of the X-Men had all been taken out. Pyro then bent down and picked Rogue up in his arms, cradle-carrying her as he led the way out of the tunnels.


	18. Sinister Intentions

XXXXXXXX

Siryn, along with Jamie Madrox, Sam Guthrie, and Tabitha Smith, three other older students walked through the sub-complex of the mansion because they had seen the jet from the window when they were sitting in the student jet landed and the ramp opened up. The four of them watched as Logan and Ororo came down first, then gathered around them.

"You're back," Siryn sighed. "We've been worried."

"Whoa, what's with you guys?" Logan looked around at them all, confused.

"Where have you been? It's been two days."

Logan and Ororo then glanced at each other, suddenly realizing that they hadn't bothered to get in touch with the rest of them back home during their time on the island with Dr. MacTaggert.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Ororo said. "We completely forgot to radio back tell you all where we were."

"So what happened? Why'd you guys rush out of here?" Sam asked.

"We've got a surprise for you," Ororo smiled.

After she said that, Scott and Jean walked hand in hand off the jet and came to stop in front of the group. Siryn, Sam, and Jamie all looked like they were staring at a ghost. They had known that Jean had died months ago, saving the X-Men at Alkali Lake.

"Ms. Grey," Sam breathed.

"You're alive," Jamie finished.

"I am." Jean smiled "Well, technically, I was never dead."

Tabitha however was confused.

"Who are you?"

Jean looked at the girl with short blonde hair, wearing a pink shirt and blue-jean shorts. She extended a hand to her.

"My name is Jean Grey. I was, or I am a teacher here. You must be new."

Tabitha shook Jean's hand.

"I am. My name is Tabitha Smith, or Boom-Boom."

Logan cocked his head.

"Boom-Boom?"

Tabitha glanced at him.

"What?"

"Okay...would you like to try again?" His voice was now somewhat humorous.

She narrowed her eyes, playfully.

"Boomer. Is that better?"

"Not much."

Jean laughed a little. Logan seemed to have much more patience with the kids then she remembered.

"It's nice to meet you. I look forward to catching up with everyone. I know I must have missed a lot. Life here is never quiet."

"You can say that again," Sam muttered.

It was then did Jamie stare at Scott's face and realized he wasn't wearing glasses or a visor.

"Professor Summers, your eyes!" Jamie yelled. "Your eyes are fixed!"

Siryn and Sam then realized it too.

"Whoa. How did that happen?" Sam asked.

Scott smiled as he looked at Jean.

"We'll tell you everything, tonight." He answered. "I promise."

The kids nodded before finally heading off. All except for Siryn who went up to Logan with the map given to her by Rogue.

"Dr. McCoy took the rest of the team to go talk with some mutant group."

"They left you here all by yourselves?" Logan asked while raising an eyebrow.

"He said it was urgent. And that he needed help."

Logan took that map and looked at Ororo. She now seemed concerned.

"Should we go after them?" She asked him.

"Yeah...I guess. Let's take the bike."

As Logan and Ororo headed to the garage, Jean had noticed the Professor hadn't come down so she walked back up the ramp. Xavier was still in his passenger seat and was rubbing his temples as Jean come over towards him.

"Professor? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, it's just...my telepathy. I feel like it's being blocked." Xavier then took a deep breath.

"I'm not doing it."

"I'm aware. Could you...could you help me to my room?"

"Of course I will."

Jean pulled his wheelchair closer and unbuckled the Professor's seatbelt. She the elder mutant in his chair and proceeded to help him down the ramp.

"Thank you, Jean."

Outside the mansion, the metal gates opened up and Logan took off on the motorcycle with Ororo riding in back with her arms wrapped around his waist. The drove at a good speed and once they were a good distance away, two figures walked up.

Sinister and Gambit now stood in front of the gates.

"What's in here?" Gambit asked.

Sinister smiled.

"The answer."

After Jean helped the Professor up to his room, she headed in the backward of the mansion. Jean walked through the garden that Ororo kept until she finally reached a memorial tree. Down on the ground in front of it was a plaque. Printed on it were the words;

'In loving memory of Jean Elaine Grey. Friend. Lover. Fighter.'

She telekinetically lifted the plaque up into the air until it was at eye-level. She continued to stare at it, focusing her power until the plaque changed into a solid diamond. Jean gasped as she reached out and took it into her hands.

"Oh my."

Jean sent it floating back into the air. She turned the diamond into a plaque again, then turned it into a thick piece of gold. Concentrating once more, the gold then turned into a thick piece of wood. As she continued to explore her powers outside, in the foyer of the mansion, a nine year old Native American girl, Danielle Moonstar was laying on her stomach with paper and crayons around her as she drew pictures. Suddenly, a large figure began to pass by her. Danielle looked up and stared blankly as Sinister smiled down at her before bringing his index finger to his lips, signaling for her to remain quiet. She did so and watched Sinister begin to climb the staircase.

Xavier was laying in bed on top of the covers as he stared up at the ceiling when the door was suddenly pushed open. Sinister now stood in the doorway. Upon seeing him, Xavier quickly sat up and stared at the mutant in shock.

"You seem surprised," Sinister smirked. "You didn't sense my presence did you?"

"Who are you?"

"My name is Sinister. Mister Sinister."

Xavier closed his eyes and focused his telepathy, but as hard as he tried he found that he could not enter the other mutant's mind. The diamond on Sinister's forehead was glowing as he began to walk closer.

"It will be easier if you don't resist. And...less dangerous."

Xavier gasped as he finally gave up. He now appeared exhausted from his attempt as he now breathed heavily.

"What do you want?"

"Only two things. Where are Scott Summers and Jean Grey?"

Narrowing his eyes, Xavier responded;

"You leave them alone."

Sinister laughed.

"Don't move."

Sinister grabbed Xavier by the collar before pulling him up off the bed and slamming him down into his wheelchair that sat next to the bed. He then grabs the handles and began wheeling him out of his room and into the hallway.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To the one true enemy of Professor Charles Xavier." Sinister stopped in front of the staircase. "Stairs."

He then shoved the wheelchair with all his might and Xavier went crashing down the staircase. His body tumbled down every step until Xavier landed on the ground, striking his head which knocked him out. Unfortunately, Scott had been in the sub-complex when a clanging noise in the hangar got his attention. Gambit was leaning up against the jet, metal staff in hand as he banged it on the ground. As Scott approached him Gambit stopped and began to twirl the staff with his fingers.

"Step right up, follow da spinning staff," Gambit smirked. "Take your best shot, if ya dare."

Scott stopped him front of him.

"What are you doing in here?"

Gambit shrugged.

"Everyone's gotta be somewhere."

Scott wasn't on the defensive. He had been gone for months, maybe this guy was new here. But before Scott could question him anymore Gambit quickly charging up his staff, swinging it at Cyclops' head who ducked and sent an optic blast at him. Gambit leaped out of the way and came flying back at him, clipping Cyclops' ankle with his staff. Cyclops fell to the ground but when Gambit came over him, he sent a foot up to Gambit's stomach, knocking him backwards. Gambit pulled out a few playing cards and charged them up, throwing them down at his opponent. Cyclops began rolling out of the way as the cards hit the ground and exploded one by one. 

He then rolled to his stomach and began firing more optic blasts from his eyes. Gambit dodged them with ease at the patterns he shot them in but was then hit in the shoulder which knocked him to the ground.

"That's it!"

A now frustrated Gambit pulled the rest of the deck out of the pocket, charged them all up and sent them at Cyclops at the same time. It blasted Cyclops hard in the chest and threw him backwards, knocking him violently against the wall. Cyclops didn't move once he hit the ground and Gambit figured he was out. Gambit then turned his attention to the X-Jet. He put his hand on one of the wings, charged it up, then took his hand away causing the jet to explode. The explosion rocked the rest of the mansion as Sinister walked down the stairs until he was standing over the Professor's crumbled body. He then turned his head to the left to see that Jean was now in the hallway, staring at the scene before her in horror.

"What did you do?"

Sinister smiled when he saw her.

"Jean Grey."

Sinister then telekinetically threw her backwards and she was slammed against the wall. Jean pushed herself off and came at Sinister. They both circled each other with their arms extended in front of them, trying to gain the edge in a battle of telekinesis. They tried pushing each other back but they found that neither one could really get the advantage.

"You've grown so much stronger over the years. I knew I was right."

He then pushed forward with more strength and Jean slowly began to go down to her knees.

"But still no match for me."

Jean then snapped her head up to look at him, her eyes burning orange now. Sinister now seemed surprised as Jean began to push herself back up. Jean extended her hands and Sinister's feet began to slide backwards a little-

Gambit appeared from behind her and wrapped a mutant-inhibitor collar around her neck. Jean gasped when she was suddenly de-powered. Sinister then came at her, grabbing her head. After a moment of concentration, Jean fainted and collapsed in his arms.

"Did you find Scott?" Sinister asked.

Gambit motioned with his head behind him and Sinister smiled when he saw Cyclops on the floor, knocked out with an inhibitor collar around his neck as well.

"Very good, son. Let's go, we have what we need."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Several police cars and ambulances surrounded the giant hole in the street on Madison Avenue. Warren had been taken away to a hospital, he may never be the same due to the damage to his wings. Hank watched as Pitor was on a stretcher, being loaded into another ambulance. His organic steel had saved Pitor from certain death but he was not without injury. Several of his steel plates had been welded together and his left cheek was an indistinguishable blob of metal. And Jubilee...

Hank shook his head as tears came to his eyes. He was overwhelmed with guilt.

Logan who was driving on the motorcycle to the location on the map saw the scene up ahead and pulled the bike on the side. He and Ororo got off the motorcycle and ran towards Hank.

"Hank!"

The blue mutant looked over when he heard Logan's voice and saw that Ororo was with him.

"Hank, what happened?" Ororo then asked.

"We were attacked, Hank explained in a hollow voice. "Pitor and Warren have been taken to the hospital. And Jubilee...she's dead."

Ororo gasped.

"What?"

"What the hell was she doing with you!" Logan yelled, enraged. "She wasn't trained!"

"This wasn't supposed to happen!"

"What about Bobby?" Ororo asked. "Kitty?"

"And Rogue?" Logan added.

"Bobby wasn't with us," Hank answered. "Rogue and Kitty...I don't know. They're missing."

Logan yelled out in rage as he then punched Hank, knocking him to the ground. Ororo quickly grabbed Logan and tried to stop him from going after Hank. She yelled that it wasn't his fault and did her best to reason and calm him. Cops got in between all of them, however it was Ororo that kept Logan from releasing his claws and losing it completely. One of the cops helped Hank up as Logan finally managed to keep himself in check.

A officer then approached the three of them and spoke;

"We found two survivors. Everyone else down there is dead."

Caliban and Marrow stood together behind the officer, both had haunted looks in their eyes. Ororo approached them.

"You should come with us." Ororo then looked at Hank then at Logan. "Let's get back to the mansion and figure things out."

Logan and Hank helped lift the motorcycle into the trunk of the hummer before they pilled into it along with Ororo who rode in back with Marrow and Caliban. As they drove it back to the mansion as fast as they could, the stratojet that Sinister piloted landed in Battery Park and began picking up The Marauders who had been waiting for them. As they filled in, Sinister noticed that one member of his group was missing.

"Where is Riptide? Who is she?"

Sinister looked to Rogue as Pyro placed her limp body gently down in a seat, strapping her in.

"Riptide is dead. This is Rogue, she's a friend of mine," Pyro explained. "I thought that she could be useful to us."

"What's her power?"

"She steals the life force of anyone she touches. She can take other mutants power."

"Hmm." Sinister then looked from Rogue to Havok. "Maybe I'll have use for her."

The jet took off into the air as they all settled in. Pyro took off his mask as he looked around. He then looked behind him at the very end of the jet where the body of Cyclops was laying prone on the. And right next to him...was Jean Grey. He continued to stare at them in bewilderment for a moment before turning back around. Sinister was staring at him and from the look on his face Pyro could tell he had been reading his thoughts again.

"Who told you could take your mask off?"

Pyro raised his chin defiantly but Sinister held his stare with lifeless red eyes. Finally, Pyro did as he was told and pulled his mask back on his face.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The door of the walk-in-freezer opened and Bobby slowly stepped out of it. He raised his hands up in front of him and stared at living ice that covered his entire body. He then squeezed his eyes shut and began focusing.

"Come on...come on." His hands began to shake as he concentrated as hard as he could. "Come on, come on..."

Then, starting at the fingertips flesh slowly but surely began to re-appear back on his hands. It went down to his wrists and finally spread to his chest and shoulders. The ice at his feet began to disappear as well, flesh began to appear on his knees, than his upper legs, his waist. Then finally, the ice disappeared from his face, the last spot being his eyes. Bobby slowly opened them and looked over at the window staring at his reflection. His normal face, his normal appearance was back. Fortunately, Hank had been right. He could change back and forth, he wasn't going to be stuck for the rest of his life looking like a living ice sculpture.

Bobby let out a huge breath of relief before turning and running from the kitchen, looking for the others. Only to his shock, in the foyer, the Professor was laying motionless on the ground, his wheelchair was in a heap, a few feet away from the fallen man. Bobby gently placed a hand on his back and shook him.

"Professor...Professor!"

Xavier groaned and seemed to stir just as the front doors opened and Logan, Ororo, and Hank came in with Caliban and Marrow behind them.

"What happened here?" Logan demanded when he saw the scene before them all.

"I don't know," Bobby answered. "I think he fell down the stairs."

Danielle came over to the group and spoke in a soft voice;

"It was the devil-man."

"Who?" Ororo asked, confused.

Danielle showed them the picture she drew. It was of a monster with red eyes.

"You're saying the person who came in here looked like this?"

The little girl nodded as Xavier finally began to come around.

"Professor, can you hear me? Are you alright?" Hank asked.

"Scott...Jean. He came for them," Xavier muttered, loud enough for them to hear.

"Wait...Jean?" Hank looked around at the others, his expression etched in shock.

"Yes, Jean," Logan snapped out of frustration. "We don't have time for you to be surprised right now, we'll explain later."

Logan, Hank, Ororo, and Bobby then proceeded to search the whole school, going from room to room but couldn't find Jean or Scott anywhere. The group finally gathered in the study where the Professor was back in his wheelchair, Caliban and Marrow sitting together on one of the couches.

"Scott's going to be mad," Bobby said while shaking his head. "That jet was his baby."

"You're going to have to use Cerebro to find them," Logan said to the Professor.

"Cerebro hasn't worked since Stryker took cruicial parts for his own," Xavier responded.

"You never had it fixed?"

"After what I almost did at Alkali Lake, I vowed to never use Cerebro again."

"So what the hell are we going to do?"

Ororo looked to Caliban. She then remembered him from the church during the 'Mutants Against the Cure' meeting, several months ago.

"You. You can locate mutants, right? That's your power."

"That's correct," Caliban confirmed.

"So you can find them."

"It's not that easy. To track someone directly I need to know who it is. The more detail the better."

"Scott Summers. Code-name Cyclops," Ororo began to describe. "He can fire optic beams from his eyes. Six foot two, brown hair-"

"He's a dick," Logan cut in.

"Logan," Ororo admonished.

"Well he is."

"Now is hardly the time."

Caliban shut his eyes and began to concentrate harder.

"I'm picking him up. Who was the woman?"

"Jean Grey. Powers of telepathy and telekinesis."

"They're both in the same place."

"Where!" Logan shouted.

"Fort Lauderdale. They're being kept in some kind of laboratory."

"We need to know the labs exact location," Hank told him.

Caliban nodded.

"I can give you everything. The street, the address, everything."

"Good."

"So, how are we going to get there without a jet?" Logan asked while looking around at them all.

Hank smiled a little.

"I think I have a way."

The X-Men then quickly changed into uniform before taking off in the hummer. Beast drove them as fast as he could to the Liberty Landing Marina. Once he pulled up, he and the other three X-Men got out and walked along the docks.

"He's a little something we at the department of mutant affairs has been working on, I call it 'Hydra X." Beast then pressed a button on a watch that was strapped on his wrist. A vessel then emerged from the under the water. It was a smooth, silver, miniature submarine.

He smiled at them all as Wolverine gave him a look.

"This will take us hours to get there."

"Not so. It has what's called 'supercavitation'. Our journey time should be less than an hour."

Wolverine didn't look convinced as the doors to the submarine opened an he, along with Storm and Iceman stepped into it. Beast closed the doors before taking a seat in front of the controls. The vessel submerged in the water. Beast pressed a button and the vessel was enveloped inside of an air bubble to avoid problems caused by water drag.

"Let's see what she can really do."

He grabbed the lever, sending it forward and Hydra-X shot through the water at the speed of a rocket-powered torpedo. Logan growled as he clutched the sides of his seat, this was just as bad as being on the jet. Back at the mansion, Marrow and Caliban remained in the study with the Professor.

"Where's Spyke?" Marrow asked in a quiet voice.

"Who's Spyke?" The Professor asked, looking to Caliban.

"Her cousin," the albino mutant reluctantly answered. "He didn't make it."

Marrow then buried her face in Caliban's chest and began to sob. Xavier frowned as he reached out to the young girl.

"I'm sorry, Marrow. But you'll be safe here, I promise."

As she continued to cry, suddenly a voice from outside the room yelled out;

"Professor! Professor!"

Xavier's brows furrowed as he heard a frantic voice from out in the hallway. He wheeled himself out to see that standing there was Kitty Pryde, and her body was ghost-like.

"Oh my goodness," Xavier gasped.

"Professor...I can't unphase!" Kitty cried out.

Xavier wheeled over to her. He reached out to her and his hand passed through as if she wasn't really standing there.

"Concentrate, child."

"I'm concentrating as hard as I can but nothing is happening! Can't you help me!?"

Xavier's face winced at the pleading in Kitty's voice. There was nothing he could do, but then he suddenly remembered Jean on Muir Island. How she had healed Scott's eyes, Ororo's wound, Kevin's mental illness...

"Be calm, Kitty. Jean can help you."

"Jean?"

Kitty then looked down at her right hand. It had suddenly faded away into nothingness. She was going to fade away into nothingness...


	19. Evolution's Next Stage

XXXXXXXXX

There was a row of holding cells along the west side of the Marauders compound. All were empty except for one. Rogue was lying with her back to the ground, hands tied behind her as Scrambler jabbed her upper right shoulder with a needle and syringe. That woke her up as she watched in horror as the syringe filled up with her blood.

"What are you doing to me?" Rogue gasped.

"Drawing blood. I thought that was quite obvious," Scrambler replied, sarcasm written all over it. He then got up and exited the cell, slamming the door behind him and joined Pyro who was waiting outside of the cell and said to him;

"You better hope that she is a genetic match for Havok. Otherwise she's no use to Sinister."

"A genetic match for what?" Rogue asked, now a little scared of what they might have planned for her. She had been in that type of predicament before.

Scrambler ignored her.

"Keep guard."

Scrambler then left with the blood sample as Pyro just continued to stand. By this point Rogue was on her feet and was staring at him through the bars. Even though most of his face was covered by a mask, she could tell it was him.

"Why...why do you keep doing this?"

She asked the question as her voice broke. Pyro turned his head slightly to see that her eyes were bright filled with unshed tears. He then turned his head away from her, ashamed for reasons he couldn't name. "Why do you put all this energy into the wrong cause?" She continued. "I never thought you were a bad person. Jesus, John, do you know what you've done? Do you know what you've lost?"

"I've lost my fair share," Pyro said in an emotionless tone.

"I know why you left in the first place."

"You don't know anything."

"I've got you in my head, remember?" She whispered.

Pyro turned his head, now glaring at her.

"Don't you see?" Rogue pleaded. "All of your anger, your pain, your confusion. It all steams from one thing. Your denial of who you are."

"What are you talking about?" Pyro asked in an aggravated tone.

"Bobby."

"What about him?"

Rogue just stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her head as the tears fell to her cheeks.

"You just made me feel sorry for you."

Pyro didn't know why her words hurt. He'd disappointed a lot of people. He knew that, he was okay with that. Rogue pulled her eyes away from him and sat back down, burying her face in her knees as she continued to quietly cry. While Pyro continued to just keep watch, Cyclops and Phoenix were just coming to inside of the laboratory. The inhibitor collars were still around their necks as they lay on a metal table, clasps over their wrists and ankles.

"Jean," Cyclops managed to say. He looked beside him to see that she was there on a table right next to his.

"I'm awake," Phoenix assured, even though her eyes were closed.

"We need to find a way to get out of here."

"Don't count on it," said a voice.

Cyclops then turned his head to see where the voice came from and saw a young man sitting at a computer looking over a DNA strand. Phoenix too stared at the other man before looking back at Cyclops. The two of them sure looked a lot alike. Havok finally sensed a pair of eyes watching and looked to Cyclops who just blinked and continued to stare at him. He knew that guy from somewhere, Cyclops was sure of that. He had a knack for remembering faces.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Havok asked.

Cyclops whispered;

"What's your name?"

"Havok." Said a voice. Sinister was now at the doorway of the lab. "His name is Havok."

Havok stood up and walked over to him.

"Should I stay here with you?" He asked, but Sinister shook his head.

"Scrambler needs to take another blood sample from you and match it with the girl Pyro brought."

Havok nodded and left the room. Once he was a good distance away, he then turned to look back at Cyclops and Phoenix and walked further into the room with Gambit trailing behind him, looking very reluctant. 

"Scott...Jean. How nice to see you again."

"Who are you?" Cyclops snapped. "What do you want from us?"

"Oh, I'm disappointed. I'm hurt," Sinister mocked while placing a hand on his chest. "Did you really forget about me Scott? How about you, Jean?"

"We've never met you before," Phoenix spoke.

Sinister laughed a little before turning his full attention to Cyclops.

"Your eyes may be healed, but they still cannot see." He then placed his hand over Cyclops' eyes, covering them as he leaned in closer and whispered in his ear; "Remember who gave you your first pair of glasses."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Dr. Essex walked along side a fifteen year old Scott Summers on the grounds of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. 

"How are things going here, Scott?" The doctor asked.

"Fine. Mr. Lehnserrh designed a visor for me. It gives me control of my optic blasts." Scott then took a deep breath. "The Professor said they won't be able to repair the damage done to my brain when I landed. I'm going to have to wear those sunglasses you gave me or a visor for the rest of my life."

"But you survived that plane accident. And you woke from a coma that my colleagues said was impossible. You're a very strong young mutant, Scott. You should take pride in that."

The teenage didn't know how to respond to that. Sure he was happy to still be alive...but his parents...Alex. He always tried not to think about them anymore, because it just hurt too much.

"Anything else going on?" Essex then asked as they passed a massive fountain. 

Scott laughed a little.

"Yeah. I met this girl that's my age. She's right over there."

Scott nodded with his head and Dr. Essex looked past a small group of students to see a red haired teenager sitting under a tree, looking to be working on some class assignment.

"She's pretty."

"Yeah, she is." Scott scratched the back of his neck. "But…uh, I don't know how to tell her."

Dr. Essex smiled.

"How about I help you with that?"

"How can you help me?"

"Follow me."

Scott watched and then got nervous as Dr. Essex walked over to Jean and said something to her. She reluctantly got up and Essex motioned with his head for Scott to follow them back inside. They were now sitting next to each other in the infirmary, getting their blood drawn. Dr. Essex had just finished with Scott and now was preparing a new needle for Jean.

"Just a quick poke and you'll be done," Dr. Essex assured. 

"Why do you need a sample of our blood?" Jean asked.

"I come here every now and then on Mr. Lehnserrh's behalf. I take blood samples of all the students to run tests. Just to be sure that everyone is healthy. All done." Essex then placed a bandage over Jean's arm.

"Did it hurt?" Scott managed to say, mustering up all the courage to speak to the girl he had a crush on

"No."

"My name's Scott by the way. Scott Summers."

Jean laughed.

"Yeah, I know. We sit next to each other in Dr. McCoy's class. I've been waiting two months for you to say something."

'She really had been waiting for him to properly introduce himself?' Scott thought as he then smiled and said;

"Better late than never, eh?"

XXXXXXXXX

Sinister took his hand away and Cyclops was staring up at him, wide-eyed as he now knew.

"Dr. Essex?"

Sinister nodded.

"What happened to you? You stopped coming around the school, I thought you might have died."

"In a way, I did."

"Why are you doing this to us?"

Sinister walked over to his high-tech computers.

"Because you two are the prototypes. The chosen ones. Your genetic material will be the foundation for the master bloodline of the ultimate race of mutants. You two will give birth to the future."

"Whatever you want, just leave Jean out of this," Cyclops said, looking over at Phoenix. Not wanting something to happen to her…again.

"I'm afraid I can't," Sinister replied. "Her DNA is the perfect match for you. And soon, I will find the perfect match for your brother."

Cyclops' head snapped up.

"My brother? The guy who was just in here? That was Alex?"

"Yes. He's alive Scott. He always has been. I found him after his foster parents died under...mysterious circumstances. Such a shame."

Cyclops seethed at Sinister's oblivious implication, who in return, began to laugh.

"What have you been doing with him?" Cyclops pulled at his restraints. 

"Making him the man you should have been. And since he has the Summers bloodline, Alex will be able to spawn powerful offspring as well. Strong enough to hold together the DNA splicing of all mutations."

"You're playing god with other mutant's lives," Phoenix spoke, disgusted.

"Do you have a better suggestion?" Sinister then asked. "Xavier would rather faun over humankind in hopes of a sniveling coexistence, or Magneto would have you fight among yourselves to prepare for a war you cannot win, unless you are willing to force mutation to the next stage."

"As your slaves?" Cyclops snapped.

"As my creation. As my gift to the world. The mutant powers of all combined in each, as my children. From your offspring, I will control the future of all mutant creatures on earth."

Cyclops and Phoenix listened to the mad scientist in wide-eyed terror. Even Gambit shared that look. Phoenix slowly shook her head.

"I thought that Magneto was a monster. But you-"

"-Are utterly and contemptuously sinister." He finished. "I know. They were my wife's dying words."

"She was right."

Sinister then came forward and slapped Phoenix across the face.

"Hey!" Cyclops yelled as he struggled to get out of the vise grips. "Stay away from her!"

Suddenly, outside the compound, fast, violent winds began to pick up. Hard rain started to fail from the sky as the clouds turned grey and the wind began to intensify so greatly the trees that surrounded the compound bent so far back they snapped. The facility began to shake as the wind slammed into it as thick ball of hail, the size of oversized golf balls began to come down. The lights inside began to flicker as Scrambler looked to the monitor to see that a tropical hurricane had formed over the compound. He quickly grabbed the radio.

"Mr. Sinister?"

Back in the laboratory, Sinister snatched the other radio from Gambit's waistband and answered;

"What?"

"We've got a bit of a problem," Scrambler spoke. "A hurricane just suddenly formed in this area."

Sinister narrowed his eyes.

"Prepare yourself Scrambler. We are not alone."

Cyclops and Phoenix looked at each other as a small bit of relief passed over them. The others were coming to save them. Sinister then glared at the pair.

"Just how many of you damn X-Men are there?"

"Enough to handle you," Phoenix said while raising her chin.

"We'll see about that," Sinister laughed. "My Marauders annihilated your X-Men the last time they tried to interfere. The results of this test will be the same as before." Sinister then looked to Gambit who still seemed numb from learning of his fathers plan.

"Watch them. I will deal with this personally."

The building shook violently again, this time as a large bolt of lightning came down from the sky and struck the front entrance of the compound.

BOOM!

The sound of an explosion vibrated throughout the compound as Wolverine, Storm, Beast, and Iceman stepped through the large hole that had been punched in by the lightning. They all looked around as they entered a long white corridor with a multitude of glass doors on either side. Storm's eyes burned white as she kept the hurricane going which continued to pummel the building.

While Storm, Wolverine, and Beast stuck together, moving forward at a brisk pace they didn't notice that Iceman had gone off his own way.

Suddenly a blast from a gun went off and Beast was captured in a net. Beast roared as he fought to get out of it. Wolverine ran to his side, ready to cut it open with his claws when he was hit from behind from Harpoon. Harpoon had a spear and stabbed Wolverine in the stomach with it. Wolverine sliced the spear in two as Storm fired a lightning bolt at Harpoon, sending him flying backwards. Sneaking up, Scrambler reached out and grabbed Storm around the back of her neck. The hurricane outside then slowly began to dissipate. Wolverine, claws glinting, smacked Scrambler away from her. He was thrown against the wall, his nose was now bloody but Scrambler had a smile on his face.

"You touched me."

Harpoon then threw his spear at Wolverine's chest which impaled him. Storm looked to him, expecting him to pull it right out and heal quickly but he slowly began to slump to the floor. Wolverine moaned in pain and his eyes closed. His claws retract leaving his knuckles bloody where they cut his skin.

"What's happening?" Storm asked, out loud.

Storm dropped down next to him. Beast stopped struggling in the net as he looked on, confused as well. "Logan! Wake up! Logan!"

Scrambler was amused by her concern.

Wolverine weakly opened his eyes and slowly pulls the spear from his chest. The wound was bad as dark red blood poured from it and it wasn't healing. He looked at Scrambler and tried to struggle, but couldn't even manage that.

"I have an interesting touch as you can see," Scrambler explained his powers. "I can either alter another mutant's power or take it away altogether, as in your case."

"Please...please, please, he's dying! He'll die if you don't give him back his powers!" Storm begged.

"We surrender!" Beast shouted. "Just help him!"

Scrambler smirked and looked back at Harpoon.

"Go get some more collars."

As Harpoon went off to find some more mutant-inhibitor collars, back in the laboratory, Cyclops was struggling in his restraints.

"We've got to get out of here."

"I can't use my powers at all," Phoenix said in frustration.

BEEP!

Suddenly the collars on Cyclops and Phoenix were released. They turned their heads to see Gambit with the remotes in his hands. They didn't stall any longer as Cyclops fired his optic blasts at his restraints while Phoenix telekinetically torn hers off. They got up off the table and faced him. Cyclops eyes lit up a little, ready to blast him if he made a move but Gambit did nothing.

"I can't be apart of this. Not anymore," Gambit said, ashamed at his role in all this. "It's too much…"

"You kidnapped us."

Gambit lowered his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'm his son."

"So why are you helping us now?" Phoenix questioned.

"To atone for my father's sins. He must be punished for all the things he's done."

"Alex," Cyclops suddenly remembered. "Where is Alex?"

"He usually hangs around the training room," Gambit answered.

The compound shook again as the final winds of the hurricane died down as Gambit led the way down the hall to the entrance of the training room. Havok was inside but seemed oblivious to it all. He was staring at the photo of him with his foster parents. He whispered to himself;

"I hope I haven't let you down."

Havok kept remembered the words of that girl during the fight with the X-Men. 'How could anyone be so cruel?' The words kept echoing and Havok couldn't help but wonder what his foster parents would think if they could see him now.

Suddenly, the doors of the training room were then opened. A figure was in the shadows as Havok spun around.

"Who's there?"

"Alex," said a voice.

Cyclops closed the doors behind him and walked out of the shadows, coming closer to the younger man. He had told Phoenix to stay outside and not interfere, no matter what.

"Stop or I'll kill you," Havok warned.

"Do you remember the plane accident?" Cyclops asked while he raised a hand.

"What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"You may have blocked it out, you were only eight when it happened," Cyclops took a deep breath. "Alex, I'm your brother-"

Havok let loose a blue blast of energy from his chest but Cyclops quickly ducks and part of the wall comes down when it's hit."

"My name is Havok!"

"Al…Havok, listen to me!" Cyclops pleaded. "Whatever Essex might have told you about me or the X-Men is not true!"

BLAST!

Another piece of wall came down and Cyclops just barely managed to dodge out of the way. Havok blasted at Cyclops again, this time hitting him. Cyclops winced but then slowly looks down and realizes he wasn't hurt. Havok cocked his head before sending out another blast and this time Cyclops doesn't even try to duck.

Cyclops then sent a small blast of his own from his eyes which nailed Havok in the shoulder. He too, was unhurt.

"What…?" Havok looked over himself in confusion.

"I guess cause we're brothers are powers don't work on each other," Cyclops theorized.

"Brothers? You're with the X-Men."

"Yes, and I'd like you to come with me."

"Never!" Havok shouted. "You want to eliminate mutants!"

"Is that was Essex told you?" Cyclops asked. "Look, we aren't the bad guys here-"

He was cut off by a hard punch to the face. Havok then grabbed a hold of him and ran forwards, slamming Cyclops against the wall. Cyclops fell limp to the floor and covered up as Havok began to furiously kick him. Cyclops worked his way back up to his feet, refusing to fight back against his younger brother. Havok went to throw another punch which Cyclops caught and forcibly pushed him against the wall so they were face to face.

"Stop!"

"How come my power doesn't work on you?"

"I told you, we're brothers!"

"That's impossible."

Havok tried to get free, but Cyclops held him tight. It took everything he has to keep him against the wall.

"Listen! We were in a plane accident. Mom gave us the only two parachutes left so that we could live," Cyclops explained and with those words Havok stopped struggling to listen as Cyclops continued. "I hit my head on the way down, it left me in a coma. I didn't know what happened to you. I was told you died too."

"Why are you with the X-Men?" Havok then asked.

"I found a home with them. We aren't trying to get rid of mutants, we protect them and humans who are helpless against dangerous people…like Essex."

"He's helped me."

"He doesn't give a damn about you. Only what you can do for him. Who do you think killed your adoptive parents?"

Havok stared at him in shock.

"They were poisoned."

"By Essex."

Havok shoved Cyclops away from him.

"How would you know?"

"He basically admitted it to me." When Havok still looked unsure, Cyclops reached out and grabbed his hand, the same he had when they were about to jump out of the airplane. "Alex, please. I need you to believe me about this."

Looking down at the grip the older mutant had on him, there was something familiar about it, even if he couldn't pinpoint what. And in that moment, years seperation and painful memories were cast aside by an unspoken bond between brothers. Havok then led Cyclops and Phoenix away from the training room and up to the roof of the compound where the stratojet was sitting.

"Jean, take Alex and go," Cyclops ordered.

"What about you?" Phoenix said. "And the others?"

"I'll take care of it. I have to finish things here."

Phoenix shook his head.

"I'm not leaving."

"Please, Jean." Cyclops grabbed her hands and looked her right in the eye. "I thought I lost you both. I don't want to take that chance again."

He gave her a pleading look before turning back and running back down into the compound. Phoenix looked back at Havok, unsure of what to do.

"Come on, let's go if we're going," Havok said.

"No." She couldn't explain it, but Phoenix at that moment was now feeling the same way she had felt during that whole time that eventually culminated with her almost sacrificing her life to save the one's she loved. She felt like something terrible was going to happen. "No I can't go. You stay here, I'll come back for you."

XXXXXXXXXX

Kitty was sitting on the ground in her phased form, now her right leg and left arm had faded away. Xavier was sitting with her, trying to keep her as calm as possible as now her left leg was beginning to fade into nothingness. If it were possible, Kitty would have been sobbing by now.

"Professor...if I die-" Kitty managed to choke out.

"You're going to be alright, Katherine," Xavier assured, wishing that he could comfort her. "Just try to remain calm."

"Can Ms. Grey really help me?"

"Yes, Katherine. You wouldn't believe the things that she is capable of now."

Xavier turned his wheelchair around and stared up at the ceiling as he whispered to himself;

"Jean...where are you?"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Rogue and Pyro had heard all the commotion from within the compound and they both knew who it was. Pyro stared down the end of the hall, waiting for which ever X-Men came.

"John, please let me out," Rogue pleaded but Pyro ignored her. "John?"

He finally turned his head to meet her pleading eyes.

"This doesn't have to end in a fight."

Right after she said that, frost came creeping down the walls. Rogue took a step back as the bars in the cell began to fill in with ice as Pyro smirked. He turned and saw Iceman standing there, a wall of ice forming behind him, making the hallway their own personal arena.

"Is that supposed to scare me? You've never scared me, so don't bother trying."

Iceman walked closer while taking off his gloves before cocking his head as he looked over his former best friend. "What's with the mask?"

Pyro shrugged.

"I like it."

"I'm taking you back," Iceman then said, confidence clear in his voice.

"The only way I'll go back is dead," Pyro then laughed. "And I know that you won't take things that far."

Iceman smirked as he continued to move closer towards the other boy, then looked down at Pyro's hands and noticed something missing.

"No lighter?"

"I no longer need one." Pyro's right hand then engulfed itself in flame. Iceman stared down at it for a moment before meeting his former friend's eyes again. A lot had certainly changed about John, or Pyro since he last saw him outside of Rao Laboratories. "Last time we fought, I spared you. I won't do it again. Walk away, Iceman."

A grin came over Iceman's face while Pyro's brows furrowed under the mask.

"You're not the only one who's learned some new tricks."

Iceman's hands clenched and ice formed at his palms, solid and clear, spreading out from his hands up his arms and then everywhere else on his body. Pyro's eyes widened in surprise.

"Give it your best shot."

Pyro then raised his arms a stream of fire into the air and began to construct it at his will. Iceman watched in amazement as it took the form of a solid, fire snake. The fire snake opened its mouth, having teeth and all as it suddenly came down at Iceman. That snapped him back to reality as he began firing off streams of ice at it. The snake's head went back and forth as Iceman desperately fought it off. Pyro drew the snake back. It lost its form, but he still had the fire.

Iceman extended his hand and created a thick ball of ice. He launched it at Pyro who quickly formed a line of flame which melted it. Iceman was shocked, it was his most accurate ice ball and it had failed. He then realized that ice blasts weren't going to hurt Pyro, he was too hot for that. He was going to have to strike him close.  
Holding his hands up, Iceman formed an ice-slide to advance on Pyro and surfed towards him, sending an ice blast at him which nailed Pyro square in the mid-section, knocking the wind out of him. Pyro was now angry and Iceman was so close that he wasn't able to defend himself from the next attack as Pyro sent a strong fireball at him, knocking him off balance and he crashed to the ground.

During the fighting, Rogue had managed to get out of her restraints and was kicking the frozen bars of her cell, trying to get them to shatter so she could get out.

Pyro sent a wave of fire at him but Iceman pushed through the pain and rolled out of the way, getting back to his feet. He sent a punch towards Pyro's jaw but the other caught it with a burning hand as they both stood, leaning heavily into one another. Iceman gritted his teeth as the fire was slowly melting his own hand. Water dripped down to the small river on the floor while steam began rising to flutter in the air.

In a last ditch effort, Iceman swung his other arm and ice shot from his left hand which collided with Pyro's chest, causing him to fly backwards and hit the frozen-over wall, hard. He slumped to the floor, not moving as Iceman suddenly forgot all about the fight and ran forward to make sure that he was okay. He gently moved Pyro's body so he was sitting up against the wall. 

Iceman took off Pyro's mask, then went to his's neck to check to make sure Pyro still had a pulse, but once his frozen fingers touched him, the furious eyes of his former friend opened as he lunged up and grabbed Iceman's throat. Falling backwards, Iceman's head smacked the concrete floor as Pyro's hands squeezed tightly. Air no longer was reaching his lungs, as burning flames set his throat melting. Water collected around his neck as more steam shadowed his vision of Pyro's furious eyes. 

If this continued, in just a matter of moments he was going to be nothing but a puddle of living ice.

"John…" Iceman managed to choke out, but could get nothing else out.

Iceman closed his eyes, taking in the last things that surrounded him.

"Both of you STOP!"

Rogue had finally managed to break free from the cell. Her gloves were now off and she quickly ran over to the pair and touched the back of Pyro's neck. Pyro gasped as he felt his life force being drained. This gave Iceman a little time to get away as he pushed himself backwards until his back was up against the wall. After a few more seconds, Rogue finally let go of Pyro, who collapsed to one knee, weakened.

"I can't believe you two!" Rogue then yelled, angry at the both of them. Angry that they could have killed each other. But most of all, angry because she knew how they felt about each other, but neither would say it. Iceman and Pyro were still taking deep breaths of air as they tried to recover. Rogue kept looking from one to the other before finally settling her glare at Pyro.

"John, why did you leave!?" She demanded. "Just tell Bobby the real reason, or I will!"

Rogue went over to Iceman's side who was gasping for air. He turned back into his formal form and she looked him over, worried that Pyro really had hurt his former best friend. But after carefully looking him over, she deduced that Bobby hadn't suffered any serious injuries. Pyro too was on his knees, panting for air. He was exhausted both by the fight and being drained by Rogue.

He stared at the ground for a long moment before finally saying;

"Because you let me."

Both Rogue and Iceman looked over at him, now confused.

"What?" Rogue asked.

"You asked me why I really left," Pyro responded. "Because you let me."

Pyro looked over at them, but stared exclusively at Iceman, who didn't know how to respond.

"Back on the jet?" Rogue clarified.

Iceman had recovered by this point. He shook his head.

"You can't put that on me. You left. You're the one who left."

Pyro laughed a little.

"Right. It was me who left you. Whatever, think what you want Bobby."

"If I asked you to stay-" Iceman began.

"I would have," Pyro snapped as he staggered his way back to his feet. "But you didn't, and it doesn't really matter now."

"So that's why you left with Magneto?"

Pyro lowered his eyes and stared at the ground. Rogue bit her bottom lip as Iceman's expression now held a bit of pain. It was like he knew what Pyro was trying to say. And Rogue knew what he was talking about too, because Bobby had felt the same way.

After a few more moments of lingering silence, Iceman quietly replied;

"All you ever had to do was tell me."

"You never said anything either," Pyro still couldn't meet Bobby's stare.

"I thought you'd kill me," Iceman responded as a smile came to his face.

Pyro smirked slightly.

"I probably would have."

Pyro then looked up to finally Iceman's stare and at that moment, all the previous anger and tension that was between them faded away. If only one of them had the guts to say it back when John was still at the school, things might have turned out different. Still...maybe it wasn't too late.


	20. Hope Through Despair

XXXXXXXXXX

Wolverine, Beast, and Storm stood in front of Sinister in the foyer of the compound with mutant-inhibitor collars on. Harpoon and Scrambler stood on either side of them with spears ready in hand, just in case the X-Men tried anything funny.

"Was this the best you could do?" Sinister sarcastically remarked while starting to circle the trio. "Was this really the best the great Charles Xavier could come up with? My Marauders have defeated you so easily, twice now. You will not interfere with my greatest experiment. The future belongs to superior mutants, the ones I will create. None of you are necessary."

Sinister then stopped walking around them and faced Storm.

"Except maybe for you."

"Don't touch her," Wolverine growled.

"Or you'll what?" Sinister snapped his neck in Wolverine's direction. "Growl at me some more?"

Sinister laughed before grabbing Storm's chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"You control the weather, huh? I'll have use for your DNA."

"Should I prepare a syringe, Mr. Sinister?" Scrambler asked.

A grin came over the red eyed mutant's face.

"Yes."

BEEP!

The sudden, loud, beeping noise went through the area of the compound as the collars on the three X-Men were suddenly released. Wolverine didn't waste any time at all as he quickly tore it off and struck Harpoon with his fist. Storm and Beast followed suit as Storm struck Scrambler with lightning while Beast assisted Wolverine. Sinister spun around in shock to see Gambit standing behind him, the controllers in hand, a look of defiance on his face.

"What are you doing?"

"What I need to do," Gambit answered while dropping the remotes, looking somewhat sorry that was doing this. Despite everything he had done, Sinister, or Nathaniel Essex was his biological father.

"How dare you go against me. I taught you control," Sinister whispered, not understanding what his son was doing.

"You tried to control me!" The young Cajun snapped back. 

Sinister looked over his shoulder to see Beast dodge a spear and leap into the air, dropkicking Harpoon straight into Wolverine as he stabbed him in the stomach. Harpoon's eyes widened before he fell to the ground. Turning his head back to Gambit, Sinister spoke again in a soft tone;

"You could have had power beyond anyone's imagination. You were destined for greatness, to rule all mutants by my side-"

"And on a chain! I've had enough of this! "Gambit yelled a pack of playing cards shot into his hand from the leather trench coat pocket. "I'm leaving, wherever I end up will be just fine with me!"

"So you'll trust chance?"

"I'll trust myself."

Sinister's face then twisted with rage as he then pointed at Gambit.

"I should have let you die!"

Gambit's expression hardened. He was fully aware of the condition he was in when Sinister found him.

"Yeah, maybe you should have."

"Now to me, you're just another failed experiment."

Gambit prepared to charge up several playing cards to throw in his direction but Sinister locked eyes with him as the diamond on his forehead began to glow.

"Choke yourself."

Against his will, Gambit's hands moved to his neck and he began to follow the order. He fell to the ground, and his face began to turn red as he continued to throttle himself. Sinister smirked and walked closer to Gambit as he struggled in his own grip.

"They say a man can't strangle himself to death. But you're not a man. You're just as much of a devil as I am-"

BLAST!

Sinister was suddenly hit by an optic blast. Gambit was freed as he gasped for air in-between coughs. Cyclops then fired several more optic blasts at Sinister who stumbled backwards after each hit. Once they stopped coming he looked down at his wounded body before smiling. Cyclops then watched, dumbstruck as Sinister's body regenerated itself.

"Gaining complete control of my body at a cellular level was the first thing I learned," Sinister smiling, as he met the other mutant's eyes.

"I won't be apart of your experiment, Essex," Cyclops stated it as a fact.

"You will not deny me this, Scott."

"I will!" Cyclops yelled in defiance. "And so does Jean! Whatever we do, whatever we become will be up to us, not you!"

Sinister then reached out a hand and Cyclops went flying towards him. Sinister now had him by the throat and he lifted him into the air.

"This process can either be smooth, or will be torture. It's your choice."

He then spun and tossed Cyclops to his teammates to which he collided with, knocking them all to the ground. Storm fired a lightning bolt but Sinister re-directed it back to the ceiling. It hit several metal beams which all fell to the ground with loud bangs. Wolverine screamed in rage as he got up and charged Sinister. He simply motioned his head to the left and Wolverine went flying against a glass door which shattered.

Sinister then got into his mind and ordered the command;

"Choke yourself."

Involuntary, Wolverine began to do just that. He grabbed his throat and dug into it so hard he drew blood. Beast roared as he leaped at Sinister. Jumping into the air, Beast prepared to attack him but Sinister held out his hand, freezing him in mid-strike. He then looked to the end of the room and saw that one of the ends of the metal beams had been split and was now like a long, sharp knife.

Smiling, Sinister thrusts out his hand and Beast was sent flying backwards. Cyclops screamed as he helplessly watched Beast impaled through the chest on the beam.

"HANK!"

Beast's eyes rolled over as he went limp and slumped forward, his forehead resting on the split metal beam. Storm let out a scream as Sinister laughed, enjoying the moment. But, it was only brief as an explosion of telekinetic energy went off in the area of the foyer which knocked Sinister off his feet. Gambit, who was close by him, rolled and quickly got out of dodge. Sinister quickly got up to see Phoenix, her entire body glowing with energy as she had an enraged look on her face.

"YOU!"

Phoenix sent a blast of energy at Sinister in the form of a claw that grabbed him around his front and slammed him up against the wall.

"Do you have an idea what you have done?" She fixed an intense gaze on him, chest heaving. Telekinetic wind then began to rapidly blow around the two of them as Phoenix took the claw away. "You looked to create the ultimate mutant. What you didn't know was that one already existed."

Sinister began to levitate into the air, his skin flapping in the strong wind.

"I am power," Phoenix continued.

Sinister's body tensed up. He managed to say;

"Please...Jean..."

"I AM PHOENIX!"

Now surrounded in a fiery aura, she focuses as the telekinetic winds spin violently around Sinister before his body exploded, completely demoleculerized. The telekinetic storm then slowly died down as Phoenix's body stopped glowing. She looked ahead at Cyclops and Storm carefully pulling Beast's body off of the split beam and laid him down on the floor. They were both crying over him and at this point Wolverine had recovered and had walked over to them. Wolverine looked down at Beast, shocked silent. Storm reached out and touched the cheek of Beast's furry face.

"Hank..." Storm cried.

Wolverine then fell next to Storm, embracing her. Tears then finally came to his eyes as he gently rocked Storm back and forth. Rogue, Iceman, and Pyro then walked into the room and saw what everyone was looking at. Dr. Henry McCoy, one of the Professor's first recruits, someone who had fought so hard for mutant's rights had been killed. Phoenix slowly fell to her knees, tears fell from her eyes as she knew that she could have prevented this, but it was too late. Phoenix then let out a scream of agony as her body began to glow again. The building then shook as a blast of telekinetic energy went off around her. As tears fell from her eyes Phoenix suddenly turned her head as she sensed something else. Back at the mansion, someone was in dire need of help. She could feel it, the desperation, the anguish...it was so deep that it physically hurt her. It was too late to save Hank and she wouldn't let them lose anyone else tonight.

The glow of Phoenix's body continued getting brighter and brighter until she was fully immersed in a blinding light. Then in a flash, the light disappeared and so had Phoenix.

"Jean?" Cyclops called as he got up. "Jean!?"

XXXXXXXXX

Xavier could only watch helplessly as Kitty continued to fade away. Slowly her torso went away, leaving only a pair of shoulders, a head, and neck.

"No, no, no," Xavier pleaded.

"Professor, tell the others I love them. Tell my parents I love them."

Xavier didn't know how to respond. Kitty then smiled.

"And I love you, Professor."

He smiled back as he had to hold back tears.

"I love you too, Katherine. You are one of my best students."

"These last few years have been the best ever. Thank you."

Upon saying that, her face was now starting to fade. Xavier looked on as a tear fell from his eye. But then, he felt a strong presence in the room. Xavier looked over to see Jean standing in the entrance. He watched in awe as a living miracle took place right in front of his very eyes. Jean's hands glowed with energy as she concentrated. Slowly, Kitty's faded body began to return until she was whole again. Her body then unphased and her physical form was back. Kitty looked over herself, smiling brightly as an overwhelming sense of relief washed over her and the Professor both. Kitty then ran over to Jean.

"Ms. Grey. You came."

"Looked like just in the nick of time," Jean sighed.

"A couple of minutes ago wouldn't have been so bad either," she joked.

Jean smiled as Kitty came forward and gave her a tight hug. Kitty then let her go and ran out of the infirmary as Xavier took a deep breath, thankful that his student had been saved. But as he looked back at Jean, he noticed the sullen look on her face.

"What is it? What happened?"

Jean lowered her head and closed her eyes.

"We lost Hank."

Xavier's face dropped. Silence came over them both as the Professor's breathing became shallow. 

"Hank?" Xavier asked, not wanting to believe what he had just heard.

"He was killed by Sinister," Jean said in a furious whisper as she slumped down in a chair in the corner of the room. "I was too late. I was only seconds too late."

"Jean, you can't-"

"But I killed him," Jean then stated, looking up to stare at the Professor. She seemed satisfied with that. "I stopped him."

Xavier didn't know how to respond. While he was glad that Sinister was stopped he wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that Jean had used her abilities to kill. He had once warned Erik about going down that road, the dangers of crossing that line, the dangers of what he could, and did become. While the two of them continued to sit in silence, at Mount Sinai Hospital, Warren was laying in a hospital bed when he finally started to come to. He looked around the room, slowly, groggy as he realized that he wasn't alone. Siryn, Jamie, Sam, and Tabitha were also there. Once he saw that his eyes were open, Sam walked over to Warren's bedside.

"Hey buddy," Sam greeted. "You're awake."

"What happened?" Warren asked. 

Tabitha swallowed a knot in her throat as she looked to Jamie who answered;

"You got hurt on your last assignment."

"Yeah," Warren started to get some memory back of flying around in that tunnel below the ground, before something cut into his wings. "I think I'm okay. My back hurts a little, but..."

Siryn tried her best not to cry. She didn't want to have to break the bad news to him but she had to.

"Warren, your wings were badly damaged. The surgeon had to amputate them. You're…you're not going to be able to fly anymore."

Warren stared up at her for a moment before slowly closing his eyes as he remembered his wings getting impaled by two spears. He then opened his eyes back again and stared up at the ceiling.

"It was that bad?" He questioned. "I can't fly anymore?"

Siryn took his hand and squeezed it.

"I'm so sorry."

All four of them looked sad for him but Warren seemed to have no reaction, no feeling at all. He was numb. The last time he felt like this was when his father told him his mother had died. He gently took his hand away as he sat up in the bed and swung his legs over the side.

"Warren, you should probably stay in bed," Tabitha said.

"I'm fine," He growled as he got to his feet. He looked from side to side, flexed his shoulders and instantly knew his wings were gone. "I'm not staying here. And I'm leaving that damn school too."

"What are you talking about? You know you don't have to leave-"

"I don't have a mutation anymore, so what's the point?"

"Warren, please. I know you're upset but-"

Siyan tried to touch him but Warren grabbed her wrist and pushed her against the wall.

"Hey!" Sam yelled as he pulled Warren away from her. "I know you're mad, but don't do that."

Warren glared at him as he pushed Sam away.

"All of you get out. Get out!"

The four of them glanced at each other before turning around to leave the room. Once the door closed Warren sat back down on the bed and buried his face in his hands.

XXXXXXXXX

Several days later, a large body of people gathered at Gramercy Park Memorial Chapel to honor Dr. Henry McCoy. The casket that held his body sat in front of the room. No one at the funeral was spared sobs or tears. Everyone that had gathered was crying for some reason or another. Some were crying over a lost family member, a lost friend, a lost teammate, a lost co-worker. The memorial service went by in a haze as the X-Men all sat together. Kurt Wagner was there too as was Hank's chief of staff, Carol Danvers.

Charles Xavier was now currently sitting in front of them all as he took a deep breath, ready to give his speech. While his throat ached he was determined to get through this.

"We are here today to say goodbye, to mark the passing of Dr. Henry McCoy from this world," he began. "Henry was the first mutant that Erik Lehnserrh and myself found when we decided to open up a school for the gifted. He was a remarkable young man, smart and strong. Hank chose to use his abilities for the betterment of the world. He risked his life numerous times to help people, to protect them from all sorts of dangers. Soon, he became a teacher himself and did his best to mentor young, up and coming mutants."

Scott, Jean, and Ororo all nodded as they remembered his science class back when they were students. Xavier then continued;

"He gave us strength in time of trouble, wisdom in time of uncertainty, and sharing in time of happiness. He was always by our side."

Kitty began to silently cry as Pitor took her hand. Bobby's eyes lowered as he thought about just a few days ago Hank trying to help him when he froze his entire body. Rogue was thinking back to when Hank gave her the last sample of the mutant cure.

"Finally, Hank decided to retire from teaching and left for Washington to campaign for mutant's rights. He tried to engender a social conscience," Xavier said, looking throughout the crowd of people. "There were wrongs that needed attention, mutants who needed help. He felt a responsibility to those of who's mutation effected their appearance, to be their voice in order to let them know they weren't alone and that they didn't need to live in shame. And now those of us who loved him and take him to his rest today, pray that what he was to us and what he wished for others will some day come to pass for the entire world."

His bottom lip then trembled as decided to finish.

"Goodbye, Hank. We love you, and we will never forget you."

Everyone slowly got to their feet. The X-Men approached Hank's casket that had an 'X' imprinted on the top of it. With Logan, Bobby, Rogue, and Kitty on once side and Jean, Scott, Ororo, and Pitor on the other, they picked it up and carried it outside to the waiting hearse.

As the Professor watched them go on, he was approached by Carol.

"Professor Xavier, my name is Carol Danvers," she extended her hand which Xavier shook. "I was Henry's chief of staff. He's told me so much about you and your school. I just wanted to let you know that President McKenna is appointing me as the new Secretary of Mutant Affairs. I'll try my best to live up to Henry's name."

Xavier smiled.

"If Henry trusted you, then so do I. Thank you, Carol."

Carol returned the smile as the Professor turned his wheelchair to join the others outside.

Once they had gotten back to the institute, the Professor was sitting in his office waiting for Jean to come after he requested her presence. He looked up as the door opened and Jean walked in, closing the door behind her.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" She asked.

"Yes, Jean. Please sit down." She did as she was told and took a seat across from the Professor. "Jean, I need to speak with you about your rather...advanced abilities."

"What about it?"

"Now that this is all over, we'll be going back to what we were doing in the beginning," Xavier explained. "I will try my best to teach you how to manage your powers so that you have better control over them."

"Professor, my control is fine," Jean assured. "I've never felt so focused."

"It's not that Jean. I've never seen a mutant with so much power before. And you know my feelings about the misuse of power."

Jean's brows furrowed.

"You think I'm going to misuse it?"

"No, I'm just...concerned. That's all."

"You don't have to be worried. Professor, I've been really thinking over the last few days. Imagine all the things I could do now. And not just heal physical injuries, but cancer, AIDS, Ebola, Malaria. No more illnesses, no more horrible deaths, no more suffering, no more tragedies. I can repair failing hearts and kidneys, liver and lungs. Blind eyes, deaf ears-"

Finally, Xavier held up a hand to cut her off.

"Jean, you are getting way too ahead of yourself. You're a doctor, so I understand your desire to help as many people as you can. But let's just take things one step at a time. The more power you have the more good you can do. And the more bad you can do as well, if you're not careful," he warned.

Jean sighed but nodded.

"Okay. One step at a time."

She then got up and headed for the door. But as she grabbed the door handle she stopped and looked back at Xavier.

"Professor, you've done so much for me, for everyone at this school. I want to do something for you."

Xavier smiled.

"Jean, you don't owe me anything."

"I know, but I want to. If you trust me."

"You know I trust you, Jean."

"Alright. Just…don't move."

Jean then focused her power in on the Professor. Slowly, he began to levitate out of his wheelchair. His body began to glow as Jean moved her hands around, like that of a skilled surgeon. Xavier's eyes widened as a feeling of exhilaration shot through his entire body. After a few more moments, the glowing disappeared and Jean sat Xavier back down in the chair.

Xavier's brows furrowed as he touched his legs. He then looked up at Jean in disbelief as she smiled brightly down at him.

"Now stand up and walk."

The Professor placed his hands on the arm rests of the wheelchair and placed his feet on the floor. He then pushed himself up and stood on his feet. He looked down as he began to take small steps forward, the first steps he's taken in nearly thirty years. He kept walking until he reached the full length mirror that stood in the corner of the room and looked at himself. Xavier then turned his head to look at Jean. He and Jean's eyes were glassy, filled with unshed tears. At that moment they were both thinking the same thing.

They had always wanted to change the world for the better. That was their goal, that's what they were fighting for. Maybe this was their chance.

XXXXXXXXXX

Author's note; 

This ends the X4 portion of the story. X-Men 5: Dark Phoenix is next, I promise no space adventures or weird alien race.


	21. X-Men 5: Dark Phoenix

XXXXXXXX

Twenty Years Ago...

Two teenage girls, fifteen year old Jean Grey and Annie Richardson were racing each other on their bikes throughout the neighborhood. It was a nice, sunny day in the Annandale on Hudson area of New York. They were currently riding towards the mailbox which Annie reached first. She then hit the breaks and looked over at her best friend with a look of triumph.

"That's three in a row," Annie bragged. "You have to do my biology homework too."

Jean sighed, she looked like something was bothering her.

"Why don't we go back to my house?" She suggested.

"No way, I'm not going all the way back there. Let's go by the lake."

Annie turned her bike and began racing towards the woods and Jean reluctantly followed after her. Once they reached the destination they began crisscrossing between the trees of the woods which was only a few yards away from a long empty road that intersected the woods by the lake. Annie took the lead when suddenly Jean halted as her friend rode her bike to the roads pavement but sensed that her friend was no longer racing. She stopped and looked over her shoulder. Jean clutched at her head as a hundred voices spoke to her at the same time. They never stopped and she was having these problems just recently. Annie was the only one Jean trusted enough to tell about them.

"What's wrong, Jean?" Annie asked, concerned.

"It's those voices again," Jean responded while rubbing her forehead.

Annie rolled her eyes, then sarcastically replied;

"Well…tell them to leave you alone."

"I'm serious, Annie. Let's go back."

"Oh come on, we're right here, the lake is right across the woods over there."

Annie then pointed at the desired location but Jean just shook her head.

"Let's go back. Please, let's just go."

"Why? We're right next to it."

"Something's wrong. I don't know, I just have a bad feeling. And I'm usually right about these kind of things."

Annie let out a heavy sigh.

"Okay, but I get to pick what we do when we get back."

"Fine with me," Jean breathed in relief, happy that her friend finally agreed to it.

The voices however, still didn't stop but her friend agreeing to return made her feel a little better. But before Annie had time to ride her bike off the street a drunk driver behind the wheel of a Ford pickup came out of no where, careening towards her. The young girl let out a blood curdling scream before she was crushed underneath the tires.

"ANNIE!"

Jean screamed her friends name as she jumped off her bike before falling to her knees as she continued to scream, shaking as tears cascaded down her cheeks. She then looked at the driver through the window of his vehicle and a dark feeling of rage consumed her.

Suddenly, the light bulbs of the street lights began to pop and glass showered down upon the street. Then the electric cables started to be ripped apart from the wooden telephone polls, sparks fell upon the long empty street. Trees behind Jean began to sway violently as if there was a hurricane in the area which resulted in some of them snapping as if they were toothpicks before being blown away.

The truck that hit Annie then sped off, trying to escape the havoc that was suddenly unleashed. Jean's eyes followed the car and just as quickly as it took off, the car was levitated high into the air by some abnormal telekinetic force. It flew backwards for a few seconds as it continued to rise up to about fifty feet off the ground. Before it had a chance to crash back down, the truck imploded in mid-air. Glass and metal showered down and the driver was instantly killed. The truck crashed to the ground, crushed up into a ball.

Jean had walked down to the road and was now kneeling beside the body of her best friend. She tightly grabbed Annie's hand as Jean sobbed uncontrollably, the disastrous catastrophe continuing around her...

XXXXXXXX

In the same neighborhood two weeks later, a Rolls Royce pulled up outside a house and parked along the curb with Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnserrh sitting in the backseat, younger, more vibrant…and still closest of friends. They had been driven to the location by a younger Henry McCoy.

"This is the place, gentleman," Henry stated as he put the car in park.

"She's already reading our thoughts," Xavier said while eyeing the house. "This one is special."

"Maybe we should wait a little while," Erik suggested.

"We could play twenty questions in the meantime," Henry tried to joke.

Erik shook his head.

"On second thought, let's just head in."

Henry smiled.

"Suit yourself."

Erik exited the car and got Xavier's wheelchair out from the trunk. Once Xavier placed himself in it, they began making their way up to the front door. Erik rang the doorbell and after a few moments the door was answered by Elaine Grey, the mother of the girl they were here to see.

"Oh, hello. Are you-" She began.

"Yes, we spoke on the phone yesterday. I'm Charles Xavier and this is my associate, Erik Lehnserrh."

"Please, come in."

Elaine led Xavier and Erik into the living room where her husband John was waiting. He stood up as the three came in. He then motioned for them to sit on the sofa while he sat with his wife on the couch across from them.

"Are you the ones from the school?" John asked.

"Yes," Xavier answered as Erik helped him out of the wheelchair so he could sit next to him on the sofa.

"Do you think you can help her?"

"We need to know when it all started. But, before anything, be careful with your words," Xavier cautioned. "She is listening to everything we're saying." Canvas on the wall then rumbled, as a flower vase fell from a piece of furniture to the ground, shattering. Elaine jumped and became more nervous.

"You see? It's like that all the time. And to know that I can't help her is frustrating..."

"Usually, these events are triggered by extreme stress."

Erik, in his ever imposing, prideful and softly sarcastic way towards humans responded;

"Has she received any kind of...mistreatment?"

"No," John noticed the way he spoke and was not flattered. "Jean is the most precious thing we have in our lives."

"Thing?"

"Erik-" Xavier began as he looked over at him. This was the last thing the parents needed right now.

"Wait...John, it all started when...when her best friend Annie died," Elaine explained. Now looking at Erik and Xavier she continued; "She was struck by a drunk driver. Jean saw the whole thing happen right in front of her."

"How is she, right now?"

"She knows something's wrong, that obviously something's different about her."

John then spoke up again.

"Jean is a good girl...she has never given us trouble until...this."

"May we speak to her?" Xavier asked.

John and Elaine exchanged worried glances.

"Alright," John hesitantly responded.

John then went to call over his shoulder but Jean had already walked into the room. Elaine and John shared a quick look before he smiled and got up to gently led his daughter to the couch.

"Jean, this is Mr. Xavier and Mr. Lehnserrh. They would like to speak with you for a minute."

Jean took a seat in between her parents and in an instant, both John and Elaine freeze, becoming living statues. Xavier looked at Jean and smiled.

"Hello, Jean."

Jean didn't answer as she looked from Xavier to Erik. Xavier then spoke to the young girl again, this time via telepathy.

'It's very rude you know, to read my thoughts or your parent's without our permission.'

Jean's brows furrow in confusion.

"You were in my head."

"Just as you were in mine," Xavier said, out loud this time.

"Did you think you were in the only one of your kind, young lady?" Erik then asked.

"What kind?"

Xavier smiled.

"We're mutants, Jean. We're like you."

"Really?" Jean smirked. "I doubt that."

Outside, all of the cars on the street began to levitate high into the air. Hank, who was reading the newspaper while waiting inside the Rolls Royce then suddenly, realized he was high in the air.

"Whoa, whoa!"

Mr. Lee watched in awe as the hose he had been watering his plants with suddenly snaked up by itself, the water pouring up into the air. Mr. Claremont chased after his lawnmower which has taken on a life of its own. The bag of a mailman opened up and letters began littering the air as neighbors began to slowly come out of their houses to see what was going on. Xavier and Erik looked through the window at the phenomenon.

"Oh, Charles." Erik began as he looked over at the other man with a grin on his face. "I like this one."

Xavier took one last glance outside before looking back at the girl.

"Jean, you have more power than you can imagine."

However, Jean showed no sign of strain, or even of listening to him. She just stared at him with lifeless eyes.

"The question is, will you control that power…"

Jean suddenly lost control, and the cars came crashing down all at once.

"…or will you let it control you?"

XXXXXXXXXX

In the present day Washington D.C., inside of the Embassy Row Hotel, Ororo Munroe opened her eyes as she laid in bed inside one of the great rooms the hotel had. She had arrived there last night along with Professor Xavier, Scott, Jean, Alex, and the person she had spent the night with. A strong arm was around her waist and another was under her neck. Ororo turned over so she was facing Logan. She raised her hand up and touched the side of his face before leaning in and lightly kissing him.

"Good morning," she smiled.

"Hmm…" Logan shifted but didn't open his eyes. Ororo then sat up and looked over at the clock that was on the dresser. It read nine-thirty in the morning.

"Oh, damn."

That put Ororo in motion as she got out of bed and began to quickly change.

"What is it?" Logan asked as he heard Ororo's quick movements.

"It's nine-thirty. I can't believe we slept in that long."

"Well, we did have a long night."

Logan smirked as Ororo playfully narrowed her eyes at him.

"Come on, get up. You know have that meeting with Carol. That's the reason we're here."

"I though this thing wasn't until ten."

"Yeah, that's in a half in hour."

"You think it's gonna take a half an hour to walk to the conference room of this hotel? Come back to bed."

"No, Logan, get up," Ororo said as she tossed his jeans at him. Logan opened his eyes and gave the weather goddess an annoyed look as she left the room. Logan then sat up, cracked his neck before standing up, completely naked.

"It's already starting," Logan grumbled as he shoved his jeans on. A woman in his life telling him what to do.

As he continued to get ready, outside the hotel, a limousine pulled up and came to a stop in front of the doors. The driver got out and opened the door for the passenger riding in the back. A long white boot hit the ground as a young, beautiful, blonde haired woman stepped out wearing a white mink coat and expensive diamond necklace. She headed into the lobby of the hotel and walked right up to the front desk to be greeted by the receptionist.

"Can I help you?" He smiled.

"I'm Emma Frost," she coldly responded. "You can have someone take me to the conference room now."

"O...kay."

The Embassy Row Hotel's conference room had been booked for a meeting by Carol. At the moment, only Professor Charles Xavier and Alex Summers were inside of the room as they standed by the coffee machine while waiting on the others.

"Have you seen your brother, Alex?" Xavier asked. "Or Jean?"

Suddenly, the flash of a bright light went off in the corner of the room and Jean and Scott appeared, having been teleported from wherever they had just previously been. Just one of many of Jean's newfound abilities.

"They're right there," Alex joked while taking a sip of coffee. Jean and Scott then walked over to join them. "Where did you two run off?"

"We visited the Marine Corps War Memorial," Jean answered.

That caused Xavier to smile a little.

"Reminds me of when you skipped my class to visit the Statue of Liberty."

"What?" Alex asked in mock surprise. "Scott here actually broke a rule?"

Scott gave his younger brother a look.

"It was Jean's idea."

Before Jean could defend herself, the receptionist suddenly walked into the room with Emma right behind him. The others looked over at the woman, the Professor being the only one not surprised to see her. They thought they would be the only ones attending this.

"Miss Frost," Xavier smiled as he walked over to greet her. "I'm glad you could come."

"It's Emma," Emma responded as she shook his hand then glanced at the others. "I prefer to leave 'Miss Frost' to my students."

Xavier looked to the X-Men.

"Emma is the headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy."

"My school's pupils are a tad more…selective than yours."

"Nevertheless, with the increasing mutant population, I've been in contact with Emma over a possible merger," Xavier explained. "I thought that it'd be important for her to be here as well."

"Yes," Scott nodded as he walked over to Emma and extended a hand. "I've heard of your school. I've been meaning to become acquainted with you."

"I'm sure you have."

Emma placed her hand in Scott's and gazed into his eyes that weren't wearing shades. The two continued to stare at each other before Scott realized the hand shake was lasting longer than necessary and released it. Jean had noticed this too as she walked over to introduce herself.

"This is my...uh, this is-" Scott then shook his head, wondering why he was stumbling over his words.

"Jean Grey," she said for him.

"Emma Frost."

The two women shook hands briefly as Logan and Ororo walked in.

"Ah, now that we're all here," Xavier said as he motioned to the long table in the center in the room.

"We just have to wait for our host," Emma finished, somewhat annoyed at the delay. She hated to be kept waiting. Logan glanced at the woman, not knowing who she was as he wasn't here for the introduction.

'What's with this bitch's attitude?' Logan thought to himself as Xavier looked at him, somewhat shocked and amused. Emma however, stiffened.

"Logan-" Xavier tried to warn him but-

'She does have a nice ass though.'

"Logan."

'If you were lucky I'd take you into one of these rooms and let you-'

'Oh please,' Emma suddenly shot back, via telepathy.

Logan's eyes suddenly widened as Emma narrowed her eyes at him and then said out loud;

"You certainly have a big ego don't you?"

"I, uh..." Logan spoke in a shocked voice.

"Pervert."

Emma then gave him one last nasty look before turning and walking out of the room. Logan then shot a glare at the Professor.

"Damn it, Charles. Why didn't you tell me she was a telepath?"

"I was trying. Your advanced hearing must have blocked me out."

This of course got Ororo's attention.

"What did you do?"

"I'll tell you later," Logan muttered, not wanting to start something at the moment. This caused Alex to bust out laughing. Logan narrowed his eyes.

"What are you laughing at, kid?"

"Nothing," Alex managed as he got a hold of himself. "But you may want to wipe that bit of drool from your mouth."

Right then, Carol Danvers walked into the room and greeted them.

"Oh, thank you all for coming."

"Yes," Emma responded while walking back in. "You'd think that could be on time, since you were the one who requested this meeting."

"My apologizes."

The seven of them then took a seat at the table while Carol went to stand in front of them all. Behind her, a screen had been pulled down.

"As I'm sure you all may know, Secretary Graydon Creed has won the republican nomination for President."

She then stepped out of the way to let a new clip play on the screen. It was that of Creed giving one of his speeches at a town event in Ohio.

"It is time to get this country back on track," Graydon began as he stood in front of several thousand enthusiastic supporters. "The mutant registration act is the most logical step in dealing with this mutant problem."

Carol then paused the video.

"Graydon Creed," Logan muttered. "Who voted for that dick?"

"Don't you follow the news?" Emma asked, rudely.

"I really don't care to."

Carol then pushed a button to go to the next clip.

"And his opponent will be democratic candidate, Sebastian Shaw."

The screen then showed the image of Shaw at what looked to be an expensive dinner. The group watched for a minute the video was again paused. Ororo took a deep breath as she shook her head.

"It's depressing to see that Graydon Creed has so much support. Every time we think we're past this-"

"I know, Ororo," Xavier said while giving her a sad smile. "But I truly believe the fact that his opponent is a mutant may be the biggest reason for all his support."

"Wait, Shaw is a mutant?" Logan questioned.

Emma rolled her eyes.

"You really don't know much do you?"

Logan and Ororo both gave Emma glares but Scott couldn't help but smile at the blonde woman's sassiness. Emma noticed this and returned the smile, their gazes lingering on each other which Jean noticed.

"Yes, Shaw is mutant," Carol confirmed. "Whether or not this country is ready for a mutant president is the biggest question."

"Do you think Shaw has a chance?" Ororo asked.

"Shaw has a lot of friends in high places and a seemingly unlimited amount of financial support. Is that enough to win him the election, I really don't know."

Alex then leaned forward in his seat and spoke for the first time.

"Why exactly did you call this meeting?"

"The mutant's division is in jeopardy if Creed wins the election. We need to do something big to show its importance and how successful it's been with advancing mutant rights. We need to find Magneto and hand him back over to the authorities."

Everyone on the room then focused on the Professor. After taking a heavy sigh, Carol continued on;

"I know that you two have a complicated history. The two of you were friends-"

"No, I understand that Erik is a criminal," Xavier assured. "He should have to pay for the crimes he's committed. However, trying to find him is a lot easier said than done."

As they continued to speak, outside the hotel, several SUV's pulled up before parking in front of the doors. Security members got out and went to the middle car and opened up the back door. Stepping out was the presidential candidate himself, Sebastian Shaw.


	22. None Of Us Are Saints

XXXXXXXXX

Back in Westchester, upstairs in the third floor of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Rogue was inside of her bedroom and had just finished changing into a special material of clothes, very thin and resistant. It would allow her to enjoy a sunny day outside without the suffocating under layers of protective clothes that made it safe for her and everyone else close by. Opening up the top drawer of her dresser, Rogue pulled out a pair of white gloves that was sitting on top of an envelope. She looked down at the envelope for a moment before picking it up and pulling out the test tube that contained the last sample of the mutant cure. Rogue looked at it almost every day since Hank had given it to her, and she really didn't know what it was that had been stopping her from taking it.

Rogue then put it back, pulled on her gloves and hurried out of the room. Closing the door behind her, she moved along the hallway until she accidentally ran into someone.

"Sorry."

Rogue was a little embarrassed as she looked up to see who it was. It was the new guy they had brought back with them after the fight against Dr. Nathaniel Essex and his Marauders. The guy smiled down at her as Rogue couldn't help but gaze at his red-on-black eyes.

"Hello, Chere." Remy then tipped an imaginary hat at Rogue. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced yet. My name's Remy LeBeau. You are?"

"Rogue," she smiled slightly. "How come you're not outside with everyone else?"

Remy shrugged a shoulder.

"I don't know. I guess I still feel a little awkward being here."

Rouge nodded. She could understand that because that's how she felt when she first arrived before others had made her feel welcome.

"Where were you before?"

"I was the best thief in New Orleans."

Rogue raised an eyebrow at the proud tone in Remy's voice. It was like he wore that title with a badge of honor. She then noted his accent.

"You're Cajun, aren't you?"

Remy nodded.

"Born and bred."

Rogue snorted and Remy cocked his head.

"Som'tin' wrong, Chere?"

"A swamp rat," Rogue muttered to herself.

However, Remy was far from looking insulted and beamed at her.

"You've already got a pet name for me? How sweet. And judging by your accent I'd say you'd be a river rat. Mississippi, right?" Rogue scowled but didn't respond as Remy grinned, knowing he guessed correctly. He then continued;

"The states of Louisiana and Mississippi share the great border of the mighty river. The way I see it we're kissing cousins."

Rogue stared at Remy's eyes that were concentrating completely on her, the message they whispered was almost...seductive. His gloved hand then moved a little closer towards hers but Rogue shook her head and moved her hand away.

"Keep your hands and your perverted thoughts to yourself."

"Of course. I'm sure I'll see you around. Nice ta talk with you, Chere."

He then spun on his heels and began to walk away when Rogue asked;

"Why do you keep calling me that?"

He stopped in his tracks.

"It means 'dear' in French."

Remy then turned his head back to look at her, winked, and then continued on till he turned a corner. Rogue couldn't help the smile that came to her face before she began heading for the staircase. But once she reached it Rogue only made it down one step as she heard three voices down below by the front door of the mansion. One belonged to her friend, Kitty Pryde, while the other two were that of Yushin and Asuka Lee, the parents of Jubilee. They had arrived from their home in Beverly Hills to collect their daughters belongings.

"I can't take this," Kitty said as she clutched the yellow jacket that once had belonged to Jubilee. It was her favorite one. She wore it almost every time they all went out, no matter what the weather was.

Yushin gave her a sad smile.

"In our culture, when someone close to us passes, we keep something personal of theirs," he explained. "She would have wanted a friend to have it. Our son certainly isn't going to wear it."

Kitty didn't want to cry, but she couldn't help it was tears began to drop down her cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Lee."

Asuka came forward and hugged her. She too had tears in her eyes.

"She talked about the X-Men every time she visited us," Asuka said. "She wanted very much to a part of it. To use her powers to try and make a difference."

"She did," Kitty assured. "She died trying to save people."

After a few more moments, Mr. and Mrs. Lee said their goodbyes to the young teen and headed out. Rogue finished her descent down the stairs and carefully put a hand on Kitty's shoulder.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Rogue was sad about Jubilee's death just as much as anyone but Kitty was much closer to her as she and Jubilee joined the school around the same time, much like Bobby and John had. Along with Pitor, they had all once been a tight little group.

"I'll be fine," Kitty assured, drying her eyes. "Come on, let's head outside."

The rest of the kids were in the backyard of the mansion. A couple of the younger students were playing in the swimming pool, tossing a beach ball back and forth between each other. Bobby had taken to the grill and fixing the kids plates of food. Once he handed one off to Marrow, the last surviving Morlock he looked at the two girls who had just walked out to join them all.

"Hey, can you two take over?" Bobby asked.

"Sure," Rogue smiled as she took the metal spatula from him to flip over the burger patties.

Kitty continued to stand next to Rogue.

"Hey, remind me to call Mr. Worthington when we head back inside."

"You've been talking with Warren's dad?"

"Yeah, he's really worried about him. Ever since Warren lost his wings…" Kitty then shook her head. "I've talked to Jean about it. I thought maybe she could help him like she did with Scott and the Professor."

"Can Jean help him?"

"She said it was possible. Jean would have to regrow his wings, basically restore his mutation. She hasn't done something like that yet."

"I'm sure she can," Rogue said, trying to be give her some hope for the former Archangel.

"Mr. Worthington told me Warren isn't doing well at all," Kitty sighed. "He misses being able to fly so much."

While they continued to talk and watch the grill, Pitor Rasputin, Theresa Cassidy, Sam Guthrie, Jamie Madrox, and Tabitha Smith were on the basketball court, about to start a game up. Sam bounced the basketball and looked on to see Bobby getting a plate of food for himself before heading inside.

"Hey, where's he going?" Sam asked no one in particular. "I thought he was going to play with us."

"The teams are going to be uneven now," Pitor responded, glancing around at them all.

"That's not a problem," Jamie smiled as he formed a second copy of himself but Sam furiously shook his head.

"Oh, hell no. It's bad enough having just one of you on a team."

"Hey! What's so bad about me?" Jamie and his copy both spoke the words at the same time.

"Name one thing you do well."

"I...I try really hard."

"Screw your trying hard. It doesn't score any points."

"Why don't we ask Rogue to play?" Siryn suggested.

"Are you kidding?" Sam said incredulously. "She can't even dribble the ball."

"I don't think what Rogue does could even be considered dribbling," Tabitha spoke.

"It's okay, Jamie and his copy can be on opposite teams," Pitor said, trying to compromise. "That way they both have an equally bad player."

Jamie grinned.

"That's fine with me. I'll be on the winning team no matter what."

Pitor, Siryn, and Jamie were one team with the other team being Sam, Tabitha, and Jamie #2. Already having the ball, Sam traveled down the court with others heading after him. Once he got to the net, Sam rocketed up into the air as energy released itself from around his legs. It propelled him high up and he came back down, slamming the ball through the hoop.

"Hey! No powers!" Pitor shouted.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"So that's how it's going to be?" Siryn questioned.

"Yeah, and by the way it's make it, take it."

Sam went to take another shot but Siryn let out a scream, not ear-shattering but loud enough to throw Sam off his concentration and he missed. Jamie #2 picked up the ball and started to head to the opposite end of the court but he ended up running into the chest of a fully metaled up Pitor. As Jamie #2 went down, Pitor grabbed the ball and dunked it in, almost breaking the hoop in the process but evening the score. Pitor regained control of the ball and dodged when Sam came flying at him.

Suddenly, Tabitha concentrated and formed two yellow orbs, the size of two golf balls and sent them to the center of the court if the hope of stopping the larger mutant.

BOOM-BOOM!

The blast of mental energy propelled all of them off their feet. The sound attracted the attention of everyone else outside as they looked towards the basketball court, wide-eyed. Tabitha forced a smile as her face turned red with embarrassment.

"Sorry guys. I guess I didn't think that one through."

"Jesus, Boomer," Sam snapped.

"Hey! You guys were all using your powers!"

"Yeah, but we can't do...that!"

Tabitha sighed.

"So, I have issues. This is news?"

Rogue then called from the grill;

"Are you guys okay?"

"We're fine!" Pitor called back. He then looked to Jamie and his copy who hadn't gotten up. "Sorta..."

"He's better off that way, trust me."

Siryn frowned.

"Pitor, can you go get something for him please?"

"Sure."

Just as Pitor got up and headed inside for the infirmary, Bobby was walking back down to the lowest floor of the mansion. In the center of once unused basement of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, a six-by-six prison cell stood. The cell was black and had a small cot, a sink and toilet inside the bars. Pyro was lying on top of the cot, eyes closed, his hands behind his head and a mutant inhibitor collar around his neck. A security camera had been hooked up in one of the corners of the room to watch his every move. Pyro got up once he realized Bobby was standing in front of the bars. He handed him a plate with a hamburger on it and a can of soda, his favorite one.

Pyro ignored the burger but opened the cherry Dr. Pepper. He tipped his head back and drank as Bobby watched; both impressed and worried at the speed his friend drained the beverage. Pyro noted his expression and smirked.

"What? It's the greatest drink ever invented."

"How are you feeling?" Bobby asked.

"Oh, I'm just peachy Bobby. How about yourself?"

"I can't complain."

"Well, that makes one of us," Pyro snapped. "Just how much longer am I going to be in this damn thing?"

Bobby honestly didn't know. He had been told they were going to discuss whether or not to let Pyro rejoin them or turn him over to authorities. But with the funerals of both Hank and Jubilee, Jean's return, getting Scott's brother and the other new guy settled in and being in contact with the new Secretary of Mutant Affairs about mutant-related issues such as the importance of the upcoming Presidential election, Pyro really wasn't one of their top priorities at the moment. Not as long as he was stuck in this cell.

"We're still trying to get things back to normal around here. With what happened to Dr. McCoy, and Jubilee-"

"Oh, well boo-hoo for them."

Bobby's mouth slightly opened. For someone who called himself 'Pyro', he could be rather cold sometimes.

"Jubilee was your friend, John."

"She didn't like me. No one around here did."

"I did," Bobby assured.

Pyro rolled his eyes.

"You don't count, you like everyone."

"Maybe if you agreed to join the team-"

"Save the recruitment speech," Pyro said, rather forcefully. "I'm not wearing one of those leather body suits you guys seem to love a little too much. Tell the Professor to get a better uniform designer and then maybe we'll talk."

Bobby leaned forward and reached up, wrapping his hands around the bars. He then sighed heavily at the other boy's stubbornness.

"You said you left because I let you. Now I'm trying to help you but you don't want to be helped. We can start over, you know. We can forget things that happened before-"

"I don't want to go backwards," Pyro interrupted again. "And trying to forget things just leads to making the same mistakes. This is the last place that I want to be. I was doing just fine before I even agreed to come to this damn school in the first place."

"No you weren't, and deep down you know it. Stop trying to push us all away. Aren't you tired of it?" Bobby asked. "Aren't you tired of running?"

"Aren't you get tired of trying to save people?"

"I'm trying to save you."

"Don't bother. I don't have any interest in playing your damsel in distress."

Pyro then laid back down on the cot and closed his eyes. Bobby then looked to his neck and saw a bunch of red marks on either side and knew he must have been trying to pull the collar off. It had been on for almost a month and Bobby could only imagine how crazy it must be driving him. Not just having to wear it, but the inability to use his powers was the worst thing. Bobby knew that because it's something only another mutant could understand.

"I'm sorry, John."

"Don't be."

Bobby then let go of the bars and turned his head away slightly when Pyro spoke up again;

"You know I'm not going to spend the rest of my life in a cell with this thing around my neck. One way or another, I'm not."

"John, you're in this mess because you put yourself in this mess." Bobby then closed his eyes. "You became a criminal, a terrorist. No one made you do it."

Pyro looked over and glared at his best friend.

"I wasn't a terrorist. I was a soldier. I did what I had to do."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night. It doesn't justify the things you've done."

"None of us are saints," Pyro said as a smirk came to his face. "You might think you're a hero, but heroes are just myths."

Bobby ignored the remark and then looked at the burger that Pyro hadn't touched.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Fine. Come on, get up then," Bobby then said. "The mansion is clear so I can take you upstairs to get a shower."

Pyro continued to stare at him as he mauled it over. A shower did sound nice. He only got to leave the cell for a half an hour per day to walk around the backyard, under strict supervision of course. He then asked;

"You're not going to try and get in, are you?"

"Don't flatter yourself," Bobby couldn't help but grin as he unlocked the cell.

Exiting the cell, Pyro began walking as Bobby stayed close behind, just in case he did try anything. But once they had walked up the staircase and were now in the hallway, an angry voice then yelled out;

"Pyro!"

Pyro looked over and his eyes widened when he saw it was Colossus. Steel then began to cover Pitor's body and Pyro quickly noted the damage he had done when he attacked the other mutant with his fire down below in the Morlock tunnels. The once stainless steel had bright blue scorch marks on areas of it.

"Last time we met, you nearly killed me," Pitor growled. "Now I'm going to return the favor!"

Pitor ran at him so fast Pyro didn't even have a chance to try and get out of dodge as the larger mutant gave him a shoulder block so hard, it sent him flying backwards and he crashed against the wall. Bobby had just reached the hall from the staircase when he saw what was happening.

"Pitor, stop!"

Bobby grabbed Pitor but he was thrown off with ease. As he crashed to the ground, Bobby could see that Pitor wasn't going to listen and could possible kill John if he wasn't stopped. Pyro was still slumped against the wall when he shook his head and looked up to see Pitor coming at him, revenge clearly in mind. But before Pyro could possibly get up to try and run, a large wave of frost was thrown in the other mutants direction that completely incased Pitor in ice.

"Jesus!" Pyro yelled out.

Running past the now frozen over metal mutant, Bobby grabbed Pyro's wrist and helped him back up. Pyro stared at his friend, somewhat shocked by his actions. As he was led to the staircase that took them up the second floor, Pyro glanced back at Pitor's frozen body one last time before looking over at Bobby again, this time with his trademark smirk.

"He's gonna be pissed at you once he thaws out."

"It was self-defense," Bobby snapped. "I was protecting you."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Bobby," Pyro mocked, using the other boys words against him as Bobby glared at him. "You know that would have killed anyone else."

Bobby gave Pyro's shoulder a slightly rough shove forward as they kept moving but Bobby didn't respond to the other boy's words, as deep down he knew what he had said to be true.


	23. The Savage Land

XXXXXXXXXX

"Good morning. My name is Sebastian Shaw."

The attention of Xavier, Carol, Logan, Ororo, Scott, Jean, Emma, and Alex were now focused on the smirking mutant presidential candiate who had been led into the conference room by his security team. He stood in front of them all as if he belonged there and strode his way towards the table they were sitting at.

"We know who you are, Mr. Shaw," Carol confirmed. "We were just discussing you, in fact."

"Well, I assure you I'm not as bad as you've heard," Shaw continued to smirk as he took a seat at the head of the long table.

The security members walked down to where the rest of the group was sitting.

"Mr. Shaw wishes to speak with Secretary Danvers and Professor Xavier only. Everyone else must leave," said one of the them.

"Wait a minute," Logan growled. "You don't just come in here and start barking orders."

"I apologize," Shaw said. "But it is a matter for the people in the need to know."

It was rare for Scott to agree with Logan. He didn't appreciate the attempt to throw them out of the room and judging by the look on Emma's face, she didn't either. However, Xavier saw the rest looking towards them and gestured for them to do what was asked, which they reluctantly did. Once the group was gone and waiting on the outside, pictures were then brought to Xavier and Carol.

"It seems that my opponent Graydon Creed has some skeletons hiding in his closet. Apparently he is the son of two mutants."

The photos brought to them were that of Raven Darkholme, also known as Mystique and Victor Creed, also known as Sabretooth. The next couple of pages were the results of a DNA paternity test. Xavier looked over it, shocked. He of course knew Mystique and Sabretooth but never would have guessed that had ever been...involved with each other, let alone have a child.

"Are these results...accurate?" Xavier asked.

"Absolutely."

"So Graydon could be a mutant himself?" Carol wondered out loud.

"He could have the mutant X-Gene, even though he has never shown any signs of mutation. We would have to run more tests for that, and Mr. Creed would have to be willing to participate."

"This will do a lot of harm to his campaign, if this is true."

"That's the point," Shaw responded. "I want to fight just as dirty. He isn't going to steal this election from me."

"So this is the reason you wanted to see us?" Carol questioned.

Shaw smiled a little, ignoring the question and looked directly at Xavier.

"Actually, I came looking for your support, Professor Xavier."

Xavier raised his brows.

"My support?"

"Of course. And to ask you to accompany me somewhere."

"And where would that be?"

"I've put together a function that is taking place in Las Vegas. Lots of important benefactors will be there, lots of press. I think it would be good for everyone for you to be there. For them to find out just who you are and what you have done for mutantkind. I have a private jet ready to go, we will be there by tonight."

Xavier shook his head.

"I'm afraid that's out of the question. I can't just leave, I have work to do as far as my school goes. And as far as coming out before the world's press, I'm not so sure about that."

"Our brother mutants will inherit the earth someday and it's in everyone's best interest to make this transition as peaceful as possible. I believe we must teach the public that the alternative is just too painful to even contemplate. The public should know, Professor. They should know the dedication you've had to keeping the peace between humans and mutants. How you've stopped multiple attempts from others to start a conflict."

Xavier continued to listen as Shaw then smiled.

"And I think it's time for the X-Men to meet The Hellfire Club."

XXXXXXXXX

"Are you sure about leaving with him?" Ororo asked. "This seems to be a little soo spur of the moment." Xavier was now meeting with the X-Men in another room, telling them all about Sebastian Shaw and what he had asked of him.

"Yes. Whatever this 'Hellfire Club' is, it would be nice to see it firsthand."

"I don't like it," Logan stated. "At least one of us should go with you."

"I can take care of myself," Xavier assured.

"You're really serious about revealing yourself as a mutant to the whole world?" Ororo asked, somewhat shocked.

"Yes, Ororo I am. I've been thinking about something ever since Henry died. Maybe it's time for us to finally stop hiding."

The rest of the group looked at each other, unsure of how to feel about that as Carol sighed.

"Very well. I can equip you with a tracker and a phone. As far as your school goes-"

"Don't worry, Carol. I'm sure I could persuade Emma Frost to look after things while I'm gone."

While they continued to talk, at the same time, Sebastian and Emma were speaking in Shaw's limousine.

"Why me?" Emma asked.

"Because you're a predator, Emma," Shaw answered. "Because at the end of the day, you will do what's best for you. In the long run, that will mean planting yourself where you can be of the most use to me, my White Queen."

"You seem awfully confident about this, Sebastian."

"Dear Charles was the only real threat to our little cabal, and he's wrapped up in his own little problems as always."

"I don't know what it's like in Vegas, but here in New York the original Hellfire Club has devolved into a glorified strip-bar."

Shaw raised his chin.

"We still have an actual mission. A holy one, to me. We were all brought together to do this. Jean Grey is the one the Hellfire Club has been searching centuries for, Emma. She is our Dark Phoenix."

XXXXXXXXXX

Despite the rest of the groups objections, Xavier left with Sebastian Shaw. He assured them he would be fine and they returned to Westchester without him. Once they got back, Cyclops and Havok were standing in front of the controls in uniform as the leader of the X-Men prepared the upcoming Danger Room session for the team.

"Listen, I don't know if you should be training with us today, Alex."

"Why not? You said yourself that I've improved faster than anyone you've ever seen."

"Yes, you've done very well. It's just, we're going to be doing the level ten exercise. Out of all of us only Jean, Ororo, and myself have done it."

"I can handle it."

Cyclops noticed the tone in his younger brother's voice.

"I'm just trying to look out for you."

"And I appreciate it. To a point."

"What does that mean?"

"You can be very uptight, dude. You're going to snap one of these days if you don't loosen up."

"Somebody has to be the responsible one around here."

"It can't always be you." Havok then glanced over the impressive looking control system again. He had honestly never seen anything like it. "Who designed this thing anyway?"

"A mutant named Forge. It was his power, being able to invent things like this."

Just then, Rogue appeared in the doorway not in uniform.

"Hey, I think I'm going to sit this one out."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm just not feeling it today."

"That's fine. Why don't you just stay in here? Remy should be down here soon, I asked him to come watch and learn."

"Remy." Rogue muttered his name as the brothers left the room. She took a seat in front of the controls and pressed a button which caused the wall in front of her to disappear as the technology allowed her to watch the team train safely from the control room. Unbeknownst to her, Remy had silently entered the room and sat down next to her, smiling when she jumped in surprise.

"Hey. I didn't hear you coming."

"That's because I didn't make no noise," Remy smirked. "That's what made me a great thief."

He then reached into the inner pocket of his trench coat for a cigarette and lighter.

"Smoking is bad for your health, swamp rat."

Remy arched an auburn brow.

"You worried about this Cajun, river rat?"

Rogue crossed her arms over her chest.

"Not really, no."

"Sure you're not, Chere." He then squinted his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling. "I should'a brought my shades with me. These bright lights ain't too friendly with my eyes."

"That's what happens when you have devil eyes. They're more accustomed for darkness and sulfur."

Remy was quiet and his lips tightened at her words. Rogue then realized she may have struck some sort of nerve and rolled her eyes.

"Don't be so sensitive. I like your eyes."

The corner of Remy's mouth tilted up in a half-grin.

"Good to know."

Inside of the Danger Room, Cyclops, Phoenix, Havok, Iceman, Colossus, and Shadowcat stood in the center of the dome as they waited for the last two members. Iceman made sure to keep his distance from Colossus as the larger mutant was giving him intense looks of quiet fury whenever he made eye contact with him.

"How long is the session going to be?" Shadowcat asked.

"Ten minutes," Phoenix answered.

"Ten minutes? Are you kidding?"

"Level ten. Ten minutes."

Iceman then raised a question of his own

"What's the objective?"

"Survive," Cyclops responded.

Just then, Wolverine and Storm walked in the room wearing their uniforms as the doors closed behind them.

"Where have you guys been?"

"We had the pleasure of running into the Professor's substitute," Wolverine muttered. He really didn't like the woman and was aggravated that Xavier asked her to look after things in his absence when any of them were capable. Xavier explained an interest in a working relationship with her school in a Massachusetts but Wolverine could care less about any of that.

Cyclops thoughts went to Emma Frost just as the bright lights went off and the holographic technology began transforming the room. After a few more moments, the X-Men found themselves standing in the middle of a jungle known as The Savage Land. It was filled with thick trees with vines hanging from, plants, and a tangle of brush and vegetation. The room also simulated the wet tropical region with a hot, humid climate.

"Are we going to be fighting a bunch of giant bugs and snakes?" Wolverine asked while looking around at the surroundings in amazement.

"Not exactly." Storm said.

Through the thick bushes, a creature with orange fur moved along. Zabu growled and crouched and prepared to strike. Havok did a double-take when he saw the hologram which then roared and lunged at him. Havok quickly jumped out of the way.

"Did you see that!?" Havok yelled. "That's a damn sabretooth tiger!"

The tiger leaped again, but Phoenix held it back telekinetically before sending it flying yards away until it crashed head first into a thick tree. Iceman then saw a shadow pass over from above and looked up. His eyes widened in shock.

"Above us!"

The rest of the X-Men looked up to see a seven-foot, green-skinned half-man, half-pterodactyl diving towards them from the sky. The creature came at them with its claws as the team hit the deck and the hologram creature blew over them.

"What is that thing?" Iceman asked.

"That would be Sauron," Cyclops answered.

Phoenix tried to stop it but Sauron fired a beam from his eyes that struck her in the chest. It began firing more beams at them as the team scrambled out of the way.

Wolverine then looked to Storm.

"Storm! Take care of that flying lizard!"

Storm's eyes rolled up as she floated high into the air and soon came face to face with Sauron. The hologram dashed towards her but Storm summoned a tornado around her. Sauron was swept up inside and hurled away.

Down below, the X-Men all stood back to back in a circle as raptors began charging at them. Colossus in his metaled up form lunged at two of then, grabbing them by their throats and slammed their heads together. Iceman formed a large ice shield which stopped one but was bit in the arm by another. He yelled out in pain before driving an ice-spike into the raptor's mouth. He then iced over his wound. Cyclops and Havok were firing their respective blasts of energy at the raptors but as the first wave of them fell another group of a dozen began running towards them. Phoenix lifted up two large rocks and dropped it onto them, taking the second wave out all at once.

A third wave of raptors then charged, this time from the opposite side. A dark cloud formed overhead as Storm began blasting them with lightning bolts but she didn't notice Sauron flying right behind her and snatched Storm with it's claws. The hologram started draining her life force as she screamed. In her struggle, the storm clouds went wild and lightning bolts started hitting everything including her own teammates down below. Colossus quickly grabbed two rocks off the ground and chucked them into the air, one of them hitting Sauron right in the head. It let go of Storm who fell to the ground, landing hard on her left side. Sauron let loose an angry screech and flew towards Colossus who quickly rolled out of the way of the incoming charge. Sauron passed over him but as it did a turn in mid-air and came back around, Havok nailed him with a powerful blast of energy, effectively taking care of it.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

The ground began to shake from side to side. Iceman looked over and his eyes widened when he saw a large Rhinoceros charging them.

"Look out!"

Inside of the control room, Rogue and Remy looked on in bewilderment as the X-Men scattered to avoid the rhino. However, Remy had been watching the whole thing with much more amazement then Rogue. She might have never done this session but she done all the others so it wasn't that much of a surprise to her.

"So, this is normal for you guys?" Remy asked.

"Yeah. It's pretty normal."

"Fighting dinosaurs?"

"We've fought robots, drones, aliens, monsters...so yeah. Normal," Rogue explained.

Remy then blinked as he saw a man swing from a thick vine of one of the trees.

"I think I just saw Tarzan."

What he actually saw was Ka-Zar, a hologram of a muscular man with brown hair and wearing nothing but a loincloth swung on a vine, straight towards Wolverine. He grabbed a hold of him and kept going until he was a good distance away and slammed him hard to the ground. A waterfall was in the background as Ka-Zar leap down and pulled out a sword that had been strapped to his back. Wolverine got back to his feet and cracked his neck.

"Bad move, bub. You've just pissed me off."

Wolverine charged at Ka-Zar with his claws. Ka-Zar swung his sword and the blades clashed, sparks flying into the air with each swing. Ducking his head, Wolverine grabbed onto one of the hologram's legs and launched him up in the air. Ka-Zar landed hard on the ground but quickly nipped back up.

Ka-Zar slashed Wolverine across his chest then leaped over him and stabbed him in the back. The hologram jumped away, dodging Wolverine's left hook as his wounds began to heal. Wolverine then came at Ka-Zar again, this time slashing his right arm. The two then clashed in another spectacle as the two then locked their blades together in a battle of strength. Wolverine growled at his taller opponent as Ka-Zar then headbutted Wolverine, only to be left stunned. Wolverine seized his opportunity and came forward, stabbing Ka-Zar in the chest with his claws.

As the hologram fell to the ground, Wolverine snatched up his sword and stood over him.

"Sweet dreams pretty boy!" Wolverine yelled as he brought the sword down upon Ka-Zar.

Elsewhere, deep into the jungle, Iceman and Shadowcat were doubled over both gasping for air as they had finishing running from the rhino which was now incased in a thick lair of ice.

A menacing growl from nearby caused the two to look behind them to see a robot.

A big robot.

A full-sized, red and orange, Tyrannosaurus Rex, robot.

Iceman and Shadowcat looked at each other.

"Run." She said.

The two spun on their heels. Howling like lunatics and frantically waving their arms, the two X-Men ran across the jungle, the rex in pursuit. Eventually, it was getting too close and Shadowcat tackled Iceman, phasing the two of them so it passed harmlessly by. The same could not be said for Colossus as the T-Rex stepped on him, crushing him through the ground. Wolverine attempted to stab it but the T-Rex swung his large tail and it slammed into Wolverine, sending him careening through the air.

The T-Rex then roared as it was suddenly frozen in place. Phoenix was glowing with telekinetic energy as her eyes burned orange. Cyclops fired his optic blast at its torso. Havok send an energy blast at its legs. Iceman got back up and released a thick wave of frost at its back. Storm had recovered at this point and summoned a bolt of lightning at the T-Rex's head.

After all that, finally the big dinosaur went down. The X-Men then breathed in relief as the jungle began to fade away and the session came to an end. Rogue and Remy continued to watch in the control room when a voice from behind them suddenly got their attention.

"Extraordinary."

"Are you the one watching the school for the Professor?" Rogue asked.

"I am," Emma confirmed before nodding in the direction of Cyclops. "Tell me, is he the leader of your group?"

"Cyclops? Yeah, he's been the leader of the X-Men for years."

"Hmm..."

Emma ran her index finger across her lips as she continued to look him up and down before smiling. She then turned away and walked out of the control room. Once she was a good distance away, Rogue looked back at Remy with her eyebrows raised.

"Well, that was odd."

"Yeah. She was looking at him the same way you look at me."

"I don't look at you, Remy."

"Sure you don't."

Rogue threw her hands into the air before getting up and leaving the control room in a huff, muttering under her breath as Remy chuckled to himself.


	24. Empathy and Hatred

XXXXXXXXX

After changing into his normal clothes after the session in the Danger Room came to an end, Scott made his way back to the main foyer of the mansion. He wanted to check on Emma Frost to see that she was doing okay with the students and the lesson plan that the Professor had given her. But once the door to Xavier's classroom opened up, the students began filing out into the hall with looks of disbelief clearly written on all their faces. It quickly caused Scott concern as he went up to Siryn.

"Is everything okay?"

"You should see what Miss Frost is wearing, Professor Summers," the young girl complained. "I couldn't even concentrate on anything she was saying." 

Scott's brows furrowed with confusion.

"Okay, I'll speak with her."

Siryn nodded before walking away. Scott approached the door and knocked on it, getting Emma's attention.

"Miss Frost? Could you spare me a few moments?"

She sighed.

"I hate to keep repeating myself, but it's Emma. It shouldn't be so hard to remember."

Closing the door behind him, Scott cleared his throat as he briefly looked over the young woman's extremely revealing, white lingerie she wore beneath her mink coat, and quickly understood what Siryn had meant. Emma walked over and was now standing in front of him.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

Clearing his throat, Scott responded;

"Well, it's your choice of attire."

Emma raised an eyebrow as he continued on.

"Your clothes for example? I don't know how you do things at the Massachusetts Academy, but we try to set an example for our students. What do you think they will learn looking at you dressed like…this?"

Few moments passed in silence. When Emma spoke there was no surprise in her voice, just mild amusement.

"I didn't think about teaching students fashion. Although it sounds like an interesting idea. As for learning, I believe it's about what I'm saying not what I'm wearing. I've actually found that with my students it captures their full attention."

"My point exactly. Your clothing has their attention and your words don't. I'd strongly recommend you to try and find something…less revealing."

"If you insist. Anything else?"

"No. That's all."

Emma smirked.

"Are you sure?"

Emma then reached out and gently placed a hand on his right cheek. She then began to stroke his lips with her thumb. She continued on for a moment before tracing her thumb down his chin, and kept going until she reached his Adam's apple. Finally, Scott got a hold of himself and lightly grabbed Emma's hand.

"What are you doing?"

"Is there a problem? I don't see a wedding ring."

"I'm in a committed relationship."

Scott's brows were furrowed and he looked a little angry. Emma moved closer towards him with a coy smile.

"There's no need for guilt." Her eyes then fell from his face and rested at his crotch level that was quite a bit tighter now than it was when he first walked into the classroom. "It's a perfectly normal human reaction."

Scott let go of Emma's hand that he just realized he still had a hold of.

"Let's make this perfectly clear, Emma. I'm not interested. I'm in love with somebody else."

"You may love someone else, but the part about not being interested is obviously a lie, Scott."

Emma gestured toward her evidence. Scott's hands tightened into fists at his side.

"I'm not a teenager. There has to be more to a relationship than hormones. Don't intrude on my mind again."

She laughed.

"I'm not that kind of telepath."

Her voice was now a little more than a whisper, Emma then circled around Scott, while reaching up and running her hand along the back of his neck which caused Scott to shiver a little.

"So what do you do then?"

"I can read thoughts, but I don't go into people's heads for my own merriment. I'm more of an empath than a telepath."

"A what?" Scott questioned. He wasn't exactly familiar with that kind of power.

"An empath."

Emma was now standing in front of him once again. She then reached up and slowly removed Scott's sunglasses. He allowed her to even though every other instinct told him otherwise. Emma then gazed into his eyes.

"I can feel you." She then leaned forward and began giving Scott's neck and throat small kisses. "You want this. You want me."

"No."

"Then why, Scott, is your heart racing? Your breathing rapid? Your senses tingling?"

"I...I...stop..."

"I would...but you really don't want me to. Do you?"

Scott couldn't even move, Emma had completely overpowered him with her ability to control peoples emotions.

"Have you ever wondered what happens in the brain during sex, Scott? Or during an orgasm?" Scott tipped his head up, letting Emma's lips move over his jaw. Her fingers shift, curling tight at the back of his neck, half threat and half something else. "It's like watching a lightshow. Or a lightning storm. Or a star exploding."

She nipped Scott's earlobe and a loud moan tore from his throat as he wrapped one arm around Emma's shoulders and braced his other on top of the desk behind him for support. He wanted more.

"Tell me," Scott said.

Scott gasped as Emma's teeth sank into the side of his neck. The blonde hummed as she sucked on Scott's pulse point before pulling away with a growl.

"How about I show you instead?"

"Yes."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door and Emma sighed with disappointment.

"What is it?" She called.

The door opened and Alex stuck his head in and looked to her, ignoring his immobilized brother.

"The Professor is on the phone. He's asking to speak with you."

"Alright."

Alex then left as Emma again sighed heavily and glanced back at Scott.

"Just when we were about to have some fun. Another time, perhaps?"

She moved around him and walked out the door. Scott then jolted as he looked like he had just come out of a trance. He touched the side of his neck before glancing out into the hallway and watched as Emma walked away.

XXXXXXXXX

Standing in front of a crowd of about three thousand people in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Graydon Creed stood on a makeshift stage, behind a podium, microphone in hand as he began to address his supporters at an out-doors rally in what was considered by many to be a swing state in the general election.

"Thanks to all you, I have captured the GOP nomination. And come November, with your votes I will become the next President of the United States!"

The crowd cheered as many raised 'Graydon for President' signs as he continued on with his victory speech.

"Just a few weeks ago in Illinois, one hundred and forty elementary school children were killed, vaporized, because of the presence of a young seven year old boy, a mutant of course."

The Secretary of Defense then he looked around at the audience of men and women, all of them in awe at the information

"Unfortunately, President McKenna has seemed to have forgotten just how dangerous mutants truly are. The mortality rate and injuries caused by mutants has increased by fifty-six percent over the last decade. Annually 142,000 are killed due to mutants. In my opinion this is quickly becoming humanity's epidemic! We can act now or never, but now is the time to make a difference!"

As the speech continued, a limo sat about a mile away from the stage. It was close enough to hear what was being said as Graydon continued on. Mystique and Sabretooth sat in the back, staring at their feet as the crowd cheered again.

The large mutant shook his head.

"I can't believe this Homo-Sapien trash came from my blood," Sabretooth growled as he began to pick his teeth with his claw-like fingernails. "But I don't think this is a good idea. We should have cleared it with Erik first."

Mystique glared at him before reaching over, griping his wrist and yanking his fingers away from his teeth.

"Graydon Creed is our mistake, Victor. Yours and mine so he's our responsibility, understand? I'm not going to stand by while that mistake possibly becomes the next President."

"Come on, Mystique, it wasn't so bad you and me."

Mystique dropped his hand like she'd been burned.

"It's not like Erik doesn't know about, 'the incident' that happened between us, so many years ago."

"It doesn't matter. Erik doesn't need to be reminded of the few instances where my better judgment eluded me."

"Fine, whatever. Let's just deal with him and get the hell out of here."

Mystique morphed into the appearance of a bodyguard. She then opened the door to the limo and stepped out along with Sabretooth. Mystique began heading to the stage while Sabretooth got into the drivers seat. Just as the two of them got ready, Carol Danvers had used her power of flight to come to this event. It was ending just as she arrived, flying down to the roof of a building that was opposite of the stage that had been set up. She watched as several bodyguards led Graydon off the stage to a limousine that had just pulled up. Her eyes then widened as she saw one of the bodyguards kick the other two before shoving Graydon inside. The limo then sped off.

From inside the car, Graydon looked around widely.

"What the hell is going on?" He demanded.

A deep voice responded;

"Tell me boy, despite having mutant parents you want to destroy our species?"

Graydon lunged backwards into his seat as Sabretooth turned his head and grinned a sick smile at him.

"You."

His face had drained of color, but his expression was of disgust, not fear.

"That's right, kiddo."

He then pressed a button that rolled up the window in the partition.

Graydon looked to the bodyguard.

"Shoot him!"

The appearance of the bodyguard slowly faded away and Graydon found himself staring at his mother. Mystique glared at him before elbowing Graydon right in the mouth. He tried to put some distance between them but she grabbed his hair and yanked him back over to her. Mystique shook her head.

"I've dreamed of killing you."

His smiling political mask stripped away, Graydon Creed radiated nothing but hatred as he spat from his bloodied mouth.

"You should have killed me years ago."

"Yes, I should have," Mystique agreed. "I'm here to correct that mistake."

The limo weaved around cars at a dangerous speed. But unbeknownst to Sabretooth, he was being followed by a flying Carol Danvers. Graydon lowered his eyes as he then muttered;

"Just get it over with."

Mystique pulled out a gun which Graydon eyed.

"I don't regret abandoning you, and I don't regret what I did to your half-brother either. At least he grew up to be strong, not a coward like you."

"What a great mother you are," he said with a bitter laugh.

Mystique pointed the gun at his forehead and Graydon closed his eyes. Once Carol had passed the limo in mid-air, she released from her hands a silver blast of photonic energy at the limo's front. The long, stretch car was instantly totaled as it came to a sudden halt. Both Mystique and Graydon groaned as they had been violently tossed around when the limo was hit. After three deep breaths Graydon seemed to regain his bearings. He started to crawl towards the door and just as he reached out to grab the handle Mystique snatched his hand.

Mystique glared at him before snapping back his index finger causing Graydon to yell out in pain as his finger was broken. Ms. Marvel landed on the street, right in front of the totaled limo.

"Get out of the car, now!" She shouted.

The driver's car door was then ripped off as Sabretooth stepped out and stalked his way towards Carol.

"You shouldn't have done that. Now you're going to pay."

"What? There's a fee?"

Sabretooth then roared as he lunged at Carol. She ducked beneath his swipe and came back with a kick to his chest but it didn't even phase him. Sabretooth then grabbed her by the throat. He tightened his grip, his claws digging in the sides of her neck before she fired a photonic blast that threw him backwards at a tremendous speed. He crashed straight through the limo's windshield. Mystique then exited the limo, Graydon in her grasp as she held the gun against his temple. The two mutant women stared at each other as if they were waiting for the other for make the first move.

"I can't let you kill Graydon Creed."

"I never asked for permission," Mystique snapped.

"Do you have any idea of the repercussions of your actions?"

"How about the repercussions of his actions? You're a mutant, you should know."

"If a mutant kills him, then he'll be proven right about all the horrible things he's said about us. We can't beat Creed's ideas if we turn him into a martyr. Then there'll be ten more just like him."

"Then I'll kill them too. And anyone who gets in the way."

Mystique then fired at Carol and both she and Graydon watched in awe as the bullets simply bounced harmlessly off. Carol then sent a small line of photonic energy in the direction of the gun, Graydon ducked as it came at them, the blast caused the gun to explode. She then fired a second blast which hit Mystique square in the chest, Carol then flu forward, grabbing a hold of Graydon and took off into the air as the sounds of police sirens could be heard coming their way.

Once they were a good distance away, Carol took Graydon to an urgent care facility. Carol walked into one of the doctor's rooms where Graydon was sitting. He had just gotten his broken finger placed in a splint and then taped up. Graydon just stared at the ground as he found it hard to meet her stare.

"Not even a thank you?" She spoke.

"Thanks a lot, Ms. Marvel," Graydon snapped in a begrudging tone.

Carol laughed a little.

"Ms. Marvel?" She questioned. "What do you mean by that? My powers?"

"No..." He then looked up at her and smirked. "You have a marvelous pair of breasts, blondie."

"Why you..."

Graydon started laughing as Carol looked like she was about to hit him but she held back and quickly got a hold of herself. She had to remember that he wasn't just the Secretary of Defense now, but a nominee for President.

"You may not respect me, but the community I represent does. My co-workers do. And Henry did. That's all that matters." She then turned to finally leave but stopped at the doorway and looked back at him. "I hope this whole campaign for President isn't about getting even with mommy and daddy."

Graydon gave her a look of disbelief that quickly turned into one of anger and hatred.

"They abandoned me. Just because I wasn't a mutant."

"How do you think the country will react when they find out?" She asked.

"I don't know," Graydon admitted as he took a deep breath. "I'm surprised it hasn't gotten out already."

"It will. Sebastian Shaw will make sure of it. In fact, he was the one who let me in on this secret of yours."

"You can't choose you parents."

Carol gave him a look.

"You can't choose your children either."

Graydon sighed heavily and stared at the wall beside him. To Carol, this was a signal that the conversation was over. Before finally leaving the room, she left him with one last remark.

"I know this might be tough for you to accept, but we're here. And we're not going anywhere. Mutants aren't going anywhere."

An evil smile then came to Graydon's face as he looked over and watched Carol's departing form.

"We'll see."


	25. Close to Catastrophe

Three copies of Jamie were running on the treadmills that were right next to each other while Sam was on the exercise bike. Logan was at the bench press, lifting up three-hundred pounds in weight as Ororo stood over him. She then took her eyes off him for a moment to look at the west side of the gym where Remy was, hitting the punching bag with punches, kicks, and a long metal staff.

"He's got some nice combinations."

Logan placed the bar on the rack as he sat up to see Ororo observing the new guy.

"Yeah, I guess."

"He reminds me a lot of Rogue."

Logan scowled.

"He's nothing like Rogue," 

"That wasn't an insult to her," Ororo assured.

"Then what was it?"

"An observation. He has a good heart."

"How can you know that?" Logan asked.

"He helped Jean and Scott escape, he didn't participate in the Morlock massacre-"

"He didn't try to stop it."

"He may have not been allowed to. He did refer to Sinister as his father, after all."

"That doesn't matter."

"Of course it does. If the only reason he was with Sinister was because he believed him to be his father, then all he needed was a better alternative."

"You want to recruit him?" Logan questioned.

"We took you in," Ororo reminded him.

Logan grunted.

"Come on."

Ororo motioned for Logan to follow her. Logan wiped the sweat off himself with a towel before pulling his shirt back on. The two of them heading over to the punching bags and once Remy noticed he was no longer alone he smirked. He then looked over and eyed the two of them.

"Gotta say, I'm not really into the whole threesome thing. Unless it's the fun kind. So why don't you go away," Remy looked at Logan when he said that, then looked to Ororo. "And we'll find that hot blonde who arrived here this mornin'."

"So, bub, here's the deal," Logan stated. "We're going to ask you questions and you're going to answer."

"And if I don't?"

"You get hurt."

Remy laughed at the response.

"We just want to talk," Ororo said while stepping in-between the two. She hadn't wanted a confrontation. "We really haven't gotten the chance to become acquainted since we brought you back with us."

"Now that's better. You should let the 'Déesse du temps' speak for you more often, Wolvie."

Logan raised an eyebrow at the French words.

"The what?"

"Weather goddess," Remy clarified.

"My name is Ororo."

He smiled at the tone in her voice.

"Feisty. I like that."

"Do you ever stop?"

"Stop what?"

"Flirting."

"Nope." Remy went to take Ororo's hand but suddenly Logan's claws were against his skin. Remy laughed again as he suddenly charged up his staff and placed it under Logan's chin.

"Temper, temper."

"You two, knock if off!" Ororo yelled.

"Tell you what, you shelve those claws and I won't paint this room with ya brains. You ever seen the movie 'Scanners?'"

Logan growled but the claws disappeared. Remy relaxed his staff.

"Why were you with Sinister in the first place?" Ororo then asked.

"The Professor has already heard it."

"We haven't heard it, pal." Logan snapped.

"He found me, he claimed to be my father. I was having trouble with controlling my powers at the time. He offered to help. I took him up on it, because I...couldn't go home."

"Why?"

Remy sighed heavily.

"I accidently killed my brother in law."

"You're married?" Ororo asked, somewhat shocked.

Remy scratched the back of his neck.

"Ya...no, well, I guess I still am, technically. It's complicated, if I went into it to we'd here all night."

"Alright. So will you-"

Remy then glanced over her shoulder and saw that Rogue had walked in and was making her way over to the speed bags.

"This has been a good talk, but I must be going."

Remy brushed by them and they watched as he made his way towards Rogue. When Logan saw it he began to go after him but Ororo grabbed his wrist.

"Logan-"

"What? He's going-"

"Rogue can talk care of herself."

She held onto his wrist and led him out of the gym. Rogue, who was wearing a black tank top pulled her hair back into a ponytail but before she could even begin to train, Remy swept by her and was now standing in front of the speed bag. Rogue nearly fell out of frustration.

"What are you, stalking me? Do I need to get a restraining order?"

"Hey, don't flatter yourself. Remy was in here first."

Rogue blinked.

"Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?"

"Suppose Remy did."

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any more annoying."

"Chere wants Remy to stop? All she has to do is ask nicely."

Rogue ignored him and went to turn away.

"Come on, chere. How bout' I teach ya how to handle yourself?"

"I can handle myself."

"Sure you can."

Rogue then stepped onto the blue mats on the floor that were there for hand-to-hand sparring.

"Fine, let's fight."

"Excuse me?"

She smirked in victory when she sees the look his eyes now had at her, clearly thinking over the idea.

"And don't hold back on me, I can take it. Logan has been training me."

"Oooo..." Remy mock quivered his fingers.

"I'm serious, okay? Unless you're afraid."

She smiled sweetly when she said it, which prompts Remy to just shake his head at her behavior and eventually give in, stepping up on the mat. Rogue raised her fists up as Remy circled around Rogue a couple times, then rushed at her suddenly, punching away. She blocked them all, but he droped down suddenly and sweeps her legs out from under her by swinging his own leg into them. Rogue fell flat on her back and lies there for a moment, staring up at Remy smirking down at her, satisfied.

"Round one goes to me," Remy smirked.

Rogue sat up on her hands and nods at him wordlessly, then got back up and raised her fists again.

Remy raised his also, and starts circling again, then charges with a jab with a kick aimed at her ribs. Rogue blocks the jab and the kick and comes back with a standing sidekick of her own, aimed at Remy's head, but he leaned back to avoid the kick and drops down again to do another sweep. She scouts it out beforehand and simply hops over his leg and waited until he's standing again before leaping into the air, her two feet colliding with his chest. Remy fell hard onto his back, as did Rogue but she quickly pushed herself up into a standing motion. Remy got to one knee, panting as he glared at her.

"Round two to me," Rogue said, smiling with mock-sweetness.

Pushing himself up, Remy came at Rogue again. Rogue threw a kick which Remy knocked aside and then blocked a jab aimed at his jaw, then countered with a hard body blow that she blocked but still stumbled back from the power. Remy then reached out and caught hold of her shoulder and her hip, then tossed Rogue to the matted floor. Remy then trapped her beneath him, then caught her hands when she went to hit him. Rogue struggled under his weight, then noticed his gaze lingering on her mouth and decided to use a different kind of strategy.

Rogue lifted herself up to his face and kissed him.

As her power began to drain him, it took only a few seconds before Rogue had the advantage of his strength plus Remy's disorientation. She flipped him underneath her and smiled.

"Round three goes to me. Element of surprise."

Remy had a grin across his face, as if he had a good buzz going.

"Dirty fighting? Two can play at dat game."

Remy then flipped them around again so Rogue was back under him. But as Remy had a look of superiority on his face, Rogue's now held that of concern. In addition to draining someone's life force, she also got their thoughts, feelings, and memories. Remy took notice of her look and his brows furrowed.

"What is it?"

Remy got up as Rogue slid out from under him. She continued staring at Remy for a few moments before turning and leaving the gym.

XXXXXXXXXXX

It was starting to get late as Emma was standing out on the veranda looking up at the night sky, watching the stars. She had found that over the years stargazing had made her sleepy. As she continued on, she then noticed out of the corner of her eye the door open up as Jean walked out to join her.

"Can I help you?" Emma snapped, irritated that her space had been intruded upon.

"Sorry. I didn't know that anyone was out here."

"Obviously. It is very rude to enter a room without seeing if someone else is in it and may not wish for your company."

Jean ignored the comment and walked up next to her.

"So, are you liking the school? I certainly hope it measures up to yours."

Emma smirked at the sarcasm in the other woman's voice.

"It's just fine."

"Something about it you like?"

"Someone, actually."

An uncomfortable silence then passed between the two of them. Jean then placed her hands on the railing as she too watched the stars.

"Stay away from Scott."

"Excuse me?"

The two women then faced each other. Jean narrowed her eyes.

"You know damn well what I'm referring to."

"I haven't done anything."

"Not yet."

"If you're afraid that I'll steal him away then you better keep a tight hold of him, darling," Emma smirked.

Jean gave the other woman a death stare.

"Don't. Go. Near. Him."

"And what if he goes near me, dear?"

"He won't."

"Are you sure about that? You can't blame Scott for being attracted to me, he's only human for god's sake."

"I should wipe that smug look off your face, bitch."

"Then why don't you?"

By this point, tensions were so high that Jean decided to take her up on the challenge. Jean reached way back then slapped Emma as hard as she could. Emma yelled out in surprise before returning the favor. She then grabbed a hold of Jean and tackled her through the glass window, sending them crashing back into the mansion. The two women rolled around in the broken glass until Emma was straddling Jean, raining punches down upon the redhead. Jean struggled under her until she managed to grab a fistful of Emma's blonde hair. She tugged as hard as she could, making Emma wail in pain. Using her slight advantage, Jean twisted and threw the other woman off her.

They were both back on their feet and Jean kicked Emma in the mid-section. After being momentarily winded, Emma came back with a vicious backhanded slap. The two grabbed a hold of each other again and slammed against the bookcase, knocking everything it held off as they went crashing to the floor as well. It appeared as if the fight would go on all night until Jean managed to rise above Emma.

She slammed her fist with all her might into Emma's nose. There was a very much audible crunching noise as Emma screeched, her hands covering her nose. Blood ran down her face, between her fingers, and onto her pretty white clothing.

"You just broke my nose!"

"I'll break much more than that!"

Just when Jean went to punch her again, Emma suddenly turned into her diamond form. Jean yelled out as her fist painfully slammed against the hard diamond that was now her entire body. She then shoved Jean off of her and when Emma was back up, she grabbed Jean by the shoulders and lunged forward, headbutting her. That split Jean's forehead open and she fell to one knee as blood began to pour over her face. Emma went to strike her again when Jean's eyes suddenly burned orange and she telekinetically threw Emma violently backwards, slamming her hard against the wall which left a large crack behind her.

By this point the sound of the brawling women had gotten the attention of the entire school. Scott, Ororo, and Logan pushed by everyone else and quickly got in between the two of them.

"What is going on here!?

Scott then looked to see the damage to the wall.

"Jean, stop it! You're going to hurt her!"

Jean glared at him

"What do you care!? What about me?"

Scott then cupped Jean's damaged face in his hands. He then whispered;

"Jean, relax. You know I love you."

Logan walked over to Emma as she had gotten back up and was now back in her normal appearance.

"Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?"

She snapped at him before glaring at Jean. The other woman returned the look before using her abilities and healed the large cut in the middle of her forehead. Scott breathed a sigh of relief before looking back at Emma and saw the state of her face.

"Jean, heal Emma's nose."

"Why should I?"

"Please just do it."

Jean glared at him for a moment. She then turned her attention to Emma who cried out as her nose snapped. It was healed, but none to gently. Logan looked at Jean, then glanced back and forth at both her and Emma. He said with a slight smirk;

"Not that I wanna get between two hot women fighting, but could you at least not destroy the damn mansion? Or each other?"

"I'm sorry, I guess I just lost it." She then gestured to the wall. "That won't happen again."

Jean and Emma continued to stare each other down. Ororo cleared her throat, obviously uncomfortable.

"I think we should all go to bed."

"Yeah, we should."

He then looked back at everyone else who had come down and motioned for them to go back to their rooms. They did so and as Emma walked past Jean, she mumbled;

"This isn't over, darling."

Then, too really push Jean's buttons she walked up to Scott, hugged him and traced her finger along his jaw line. Scott just stood there. He couldn't move.

Jean glared at Emma and murmured back;

"Oh, that had better be a promise, sweetheart."


	26. Hellfire and Brimstone

XXXXXXXXXX

President McKenna sat at the head of the table in the Situation Room of the White House. Carol Danvers sat to his left side and aout a dozen other officials were seated as well. Another man sat on the opposite end of the table, his name was Dr. Bolivar Trask. He had shaggy brown hair, glasses, and a mustache. A special chair had to given to him because Trask was, for lack of a better term, a midget.

"Mr. President, the mutant population is growing and we need a new weapon for this war," Trask began. "We need something that is capable of capturing dangerous mutants out there, like Magneto."

"We haven't had an incident with Magneto in months," President McKenna reminded him.

"There was an attack in Houston, two weeks ago."

"It was never confirmed that he was the one responsible for it. We have very real enemies out there, ISIS, Al-Qaeda-"

"Allow me to read something to you," Trask then interrupted.

"Please."

Trask took out a piece of paper.

"This was acquired by our friends at the CIA. It's a dissertation written by a mutant at Oxford University, and I quote. 'To Homo Neanderthalensis, his mutant cousin, Homo Sapiens,' which is us, 'was an aberration.' The arrival of the mutated human species, Homo Sapiens, was followed by the immediate extinction of their less evolved kin.' Well, now we are the Neanderthal."

"Speak for yourself, Dr. Trask," spoke an official.

The men in the room all chuckled but Trask smirked.

"You know, when you sent our soldiers to Iraq without the weapons they needed to win the war, you underestimated your enemy. You do that with this enemy, and it won't be some border skirmish somewhere in the Middle East. This time the war will be for our streets, our cities, our homes. And by the time you see the need for my program, it will be too late. And you will have lost two wars in one lifetime."

The men in the room all glanced at each other at being reminded of the bitter loses the country had suffered in the middle east, and just how unpopular those wars had been with the public, along with the rest of the world.

"So what are you suggesting?" The President asked.

Folders were then brought to all the officials at the table that showed pictures and blueprints of giant, thirty-foot tall robots.

"I call them Sentinels, named after the ancient guardians that stood at the gates of the citadel. They have the aeronautic capabilities of a Harrier jet. Armed with guns that can fire off more than two thousand rounds per minute of thermoceramic ammunition. But size, power, speed, you could find that at Lockheeed or Boeing. No, what makes the Sentinels so special is the ability to target the mutant X-gene. A genetic guidance system."

Trask held up a small, white controller.

"It can lock onto a mark a mile away. It won't trigger unless it has identified the target. With this weapon, there will be no more human collateral damage. If I turn it on the system couldn't even activate in here." Trask turned it on and it began beeping. "Unless there's already one in here."

He began moving it until it was in the direction of Carol and began ringing louder. Trask smiled as he was unsurprised. He, along with the others already knew that Carol was a mutant. It was just nice to prove that his technology worked.

"Ah, Ms. Marvel."

Carol smiled with mock-sweetness.

"I see Graydon Creed shared with you his cute little nickname for me."

Trask didn't answer as the officials then muttered to each other briefly before President McKenna spoke up.

"You're telling me our defense against mutants should be these giant metal robots? Magneto would tear them apart."

"The Sentinels are built out of a space-age polymer, not an ounce of metal on them. The problem has always been that most mutants look like us, but my Sentinels can tell the difference. I have twelve prototypes ready to go."

Carol continued to go through the file, quickly taking in all the information she could on these robots.

"Are you suggesting we send giant robots out into the street?" Carol spoke incredulously. "Do you have any idea how the public would react to such a sight?"

"How do you suppose they'll react when Magneto destroys something else?" Trask then asked. "Or if Mystique impersonates another government official? Maybe next time it will be you, Mr. President. And she could order a nuclear strike, if she were in the mood."

The President didn't respond right away, he could only shake his head as he and Carol shared a look.

"We're reviewing all of our defense expenditures, and all the black books are being opened. But we cannot support a weapon that targets our very own citizens. The majority of mutants living among us live peacefully, and go about their own lives."

Trask simply stared at him as the President then made it clear;

"I'm sorry, Dr. Trask. But your Sentinel program, it's not going to fly."

Once the meeting was over President McKenna and Carol stood together. She was relieved that he had turned down the proposition Trask had offered but could only wonder if Graydon Creed would do the same should he become the next President of the United States.

"I'm sure going to miss you when your term is up, Mr. President," Carol sighed.

"Don't worry, Ms. Danvers. Even with me gone, the mutants division will continue on."

"That's the thing, will it? If Graydon gets elected?"

"Secretary Creed is more than aware of the favorability of this program. You, along with Hank have done a great job."

Carol smiled as she thought of Henry McCoy. She still missed him terribly and wondered each day since his death if she was living up to his name, doing as well as the Secretary of Mutant Affairs as he had done.

Meanwhile, it was three-thirty in the afternoon of the following day when Charles Xavier called the mansion. Jean answered and began speaking with him as she used her powers to clean up the study, fixing the damage to the wall and the broken glass doors.

After the function at the Hellfire Club tonight, I should be home by nine tomorrow morning," Xavier informed her.

"The sooner the better," Jean responded. "That way we can be rid of Emma."

"Is something wrong?"

"I really don't like her."

Jean's eyes then burned orange.

"Well, hang in there. It won't be too much longer."

Meanwhile, in the office of the Professor, most of the X-Men had gathered. Emma was looking over the books on the shelves while Pitor and Kitty were sitting on the couch, watching a advertisement for Graydon Creed for President. Shaking his head, Pitor picked up the remote and shut the television off.

"I can't believe that prick could be the next President."

"If he's elected he'll try to undo everything Dr. McCoy did," Kitty sadly pointed out.

Just then Jean walked into the room, so Emma went for the exit.

"You don't have to leave," Scott said to her in a quiet voice as she passed by him.

"Yes I do."

Jean then watched as Emma reached out and touched Scott's hand for a moment before leaving. Scott then cleared his throat and got the attention of the room.

"Alright. So, we need to decide on what we're going to do with John."

"I think we should let him rejoin us," Bobby immediately said.

"You can't be serious," Pitor almost snapped. "He joined Magneto, then he joined Sinister. He killed humans. He tried to kill you, he tried to kill me. He's a freakin' terrorist now. So drop him off at the nearest prison and let the authorities deal with his ass."

"Maybe he just needs help," Alex suggested. "People can change if they're given the chance. I'm proof of that."

"You're situation and John's are completely different. He was a student here for years, we tried to help him," Scott pointed out.

Logan sighed. His situation and John's were more similar.

"Look, as much as I want that kid to wake up and skip on over to our side, we all know that's not the way it works. This isn't some damn Hollywood movie and if anything that kid is going to be more pissed off than ever. He isn't going to see this as us trying to help him. He's going to see it as defeat and capture and this whole place is going to burn if we don't get him out here."

"He can't do anything as long as he has the mutant-inhibitor collar on," Ororo pointed out.

Jean shook her head.

"We can't keep it on him forever."

"Just let him room with me again," Bobby spoke. "I'll look after him-"

"That isn't going to work. He's even more powerful then before."

"If we kick him out, what's going to stop him from coming back to burn the school down for revenge?" Kitty asked. "He's dangerous and-"

"No, we couldn't just let him walk away," Scott assured. "We'd have to turn him over to the authorities."

"You've gotta be kidding me." Bobby's pleading eyes then lowered as he shook his head. Ororo looked to him and frowned heavily as she could feel his sadness. He had been her student for years, has had John. It was a shame that their once close friendship had gone the way of Charles Xavier and Magneto. But she didn't know the real truth about them, none of them did. Only Rogue knew.

"Maybe we should try just talking with him rationally. If we let him feel like he's home and part of the family again, maybe when we take the collar off he won't be a threat anymore." Ororo said.

Logan looked over at her and much to Ororo's surprise, he actually looked a little sad as he then responded;

"You have to take everything into account. He was with us, then he joined Magneto, then he joined Sinister. He has no loyalty to anyone. He'll probably just say whatever it is he thinks we want to hear until we take the collar off and all hell breaks loose."

They were all silent for a few moments. Bobby didn't raise any further objections, he knew there was no point.

"Then it's settled..." Scott finally spoke. "I'll get in touch with Carol and have her pick him up in the morning."

Everyone in the room was now looking to Bobby. He was the one who fought to bring John back here, and as much as Scott didn't want John to just be tossed away, he wasn't naïve enough to think he'd be a changed person after all this. One by one, everyone went to leave the room, but Scott stopped Bobby.

"I'd think it'd be best if you didn't visit him again."

Bobby blinked in surprise.

"I can't even say goodbye to him?"

"You're too emotionally involved. This is hard enough as it is, and we've-"

"It's okay. You don't have to worry about me causing trouble." He assured.

Scott smiled and patted him on the arm.

"We never do."

That's because Bobby never caused trouble. No one expected him to. What they didn't seem to realize is that there is always a first time for everything.

XXXXXXXXXX

Night fell on Las Vegas and just like any other night the strip was lit up with bright lights that could seen from miles away. Sebastian Shaw had just finished changing into his black suit when a member of his security knocked on the open door of his penthouse bedroom.

"Mr. Shaw? Someone is here with what they say is an urgent message. He's referring to himself as 'The Grey King,'" he said as his brows furrowed.

Shaw smirked.

"Let him in. And give Pierce a call, let him know I will be a few minutes late."

"Yes, sir."

While Shaw took the time to meet with his guest, a limousine had picked Charles Xavier up from his hotel room and brought him to his destination. Xavier tried not to be awed by the sight before him but it was hard. The Hellfire Club was bigger and grander than any club he had ever seen. Multiple strobe lights lit up the roof. The windows were long and the building itself was painted a majestic red. There was a horde of people waiting to get in as paparazzi was snapping off pictures. Once the driver opened the door for him, Xavier stepped out and a man who looked to be in his late forties with a tan suit walked up to him.

"Good evening Professor Xavier," the man greeted as he extended a gloved hand to shake. Interesting enough, his other hand was bare. "My name is Donald Pierce, I am Sebastian Shaw's running mate."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Pierce."

"Mr. Shaw got caught up in a last minute meeting, he should be arriving here shortly."

Xavier nodded as Pierce motioned to follow him inside.

Once they walked through the set of doors they immediately entered a massive ballroom of excess with chevron floors, a massive marble bar, and black leather booths. Big windows were placed along the first floor, showing off large rooms decorated with expensive carpets, a large fountain in the center and a crystal chandelier hung overhead. The curtains were of red velvet, and hung heavy held up by carefully ornamented gold hangers.

"Well, what do you think?" Pierce asked, smiling.

"Honestly, it's a bit overwhelming," Xavier admitted. "I'm not use to being in this kind of settling."

"Our benefactors are some of the richest people in the world, Professor Xavier. Believe me, the people in here probably insist on a black tie at breakfast."

There was a stage at the end of the room and Xavier saw that television cameras were being set up by every major news network in the country. Pierce noticed where the Professor's attention had gone and informed him;

"The broadcast will start once Sebastian arrives. Then after he speaks I will reveal that I am a mutant as well."

"Coming out like this in front of the world's press is such a bold move."

"Merely time to take a stand, Charles."

A waiter then came up to them.

"Champagne, gentleman?" He asked.

Xavier eyed the alcoholic beverage.

"Well, normally I don't but seeing as this is a special occasion..."

He took a glass for himself as did Pierce.

"To the future, Professor. And all the surprises it may have in stores for all of us."

They clinked their glasses together.

"Ah, I see the Prime Minister of Canada is here."

As Pierce took Xavier over to introduce him, Shinobi Shaw, the son of Sebastian was standing with his wife, Selena, watched them from afar.

"Poor Xavier. Look at him walking around and smiling at everyone," Shinobi sneered. "He really doesn't have a clue, does he?"

"Are you sure he doesn't know what we're up to?" Selena asked. "I mean, he's suppose to be the world's strongest telepath, right?"

"You just leave the thinking to my father, Selena. He shouldn't be much longer."

XXXXXXXXXX

Bobby's mind was racing a million miles per hour as he was rapidly packing. He had shoved some clothes and other personal possessions into a bag before going over to what was John's side of the room. Grabbing another bag, he packed some clothes that his roommate had left behind, including his brown leather jacket, and some composition notebooks from under his bed that contained short stories John had written over the years for English class.

The last thing he took was the shark zippo lighter which he placed in his front pocket.

Now sitting on the bench in front of the massive fountain he had once iced over and skated on with Rogue, Bobby took a deep breath, still not believing what he was about to do. He had all ready thrown the bags into a car in the garage and knew time was of the essence but he really just needed a few minutes. Bobby looked up when he saw the door to the patio open and Rogue step out. Once she saw him, Rogue began to walk over to the bench.

"Hey."

Bobby nodded back a greeting as Rogue sat down next to him. The two of them had been over, romantically at least, if they had truly ever began. Neither of them had said it, but since Rogue already knew the truth about him there was really no point in having the 'break up' conversation.

"Logan told me that they're going to turn John in." Again, Bobby didn't respond. "You're going to help him escape aren't you?"

Bobby chuckled to himself.

"Not just that. I'm going with him."

Rogue stared at him for a moment.

"Where will you go?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. But if he can't stay here, then I won't be here either." They sat in silence for about a minute before Bobby looked at Rogue. "The truth is, I haven't been happy since John left. It was like sorta like losing a part of myself. Ever since I've met him, we've balanced each other out so well..." Bobby trailed off as he began to play with a small stone of ice in his hand which he skipped into the fountain water.

"This is crazy. After everything that's happened between us-"

"Some love is unconditional," Rogue smiled. "We all have our other half out there somewhere. You were lucky enough to find yours."

"I just need to get the controller for the collar out of the Professor's office."

"I'm already ahead of you." Rogue then pulled the controller out from her pocket and handed it to him. She smiled at the surprised look on his face. "I guess the part of you in my head told me what you were going to do."

He took it from her and then gave her a sad smile.

"I hope you don't hate me."

Rogue's brows furrowed.

"Why would I hate you?"

"I guess...for pretending to be something I'm not."

"That doesn't matter to me. I needed someone like you at that time. You helped me adjust to life as a mutant and I'll never forget that. I'll always be your friend, Bobby."

"Same here," he smiled.

Rogue gave Bobby a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Goodbye."

He reached out and took her gloved hand as he got to his feet.

"So long."

Rogue then watched as Bobby let go of her hand and heading back inside of the mansion.

Pyro was lying on the floor of the cell with his eyes closed. He had been told that authorities were coming to collect him in the morning so he didn't have that long to figure out a way to get out of here. Then the sudden drop in temperature alerted him to Bobby's presence. He opened his eyes and turned his head to see him standing in front of the cell.

"Summers said you weren't going to visit again."

"I'm not supposed to."

"They're going to turn me in."

"No there're not."

BEEP!

Bobby pressed the button on the remote which released the collar. Pyro gasped when he felt it open up. He reached up and roughly pulled it from around his neck. Bobby watched as Pyro got to his feet and formed a fireball in each hand. Pyro looked down at his hands for a moment, feeling the power he hadn't used in a month before sending them straight at the bars of the cell door. He heated up the flame as they began to melt the steel like butter until it was enough for him to get out. Pyro roughly pushed the door open and was now face to face with Bobby.

Bobby put his hand on the back of Pyro's neck, tugged him the few inches closer and kissed him. They meshed together well as Pyro's breath was warm just as Bobby's was cold as a feeling of ecstasy went through them both. Pyro slumped against him after Bobby pulled away; Bobby then took the shark lighter out of his pocket and placed it in Pyro's hand.

Looking down to see what it was, Pyro raised an eyebrow.

"You kept this?"

"It was too sentimental to just get rid of."

"Thanks. I've missed it."

Bobby rested his forehead against Pyro's.

"What about me?"

Pyro smiled. Not his usual cocky grin, but a genuine smile. The one that usually only Bobby ever got to see.

"Yeah. I missed you too."

The two of them ran through the same passageway they used the last time they were running the halls together when Stryker's men attacked the mansion. They reached the trap door that led up to the garage. Bobby hit the button that lifted up the garage door before getting into the Dodge Charger. Pyro got into the passenger seat and glanced at the back to see several bags on the seats. Before Bobby could start the car, Pyro reached out and grabbed the steering wheel. Bobby looked over at him, slightly taken aback.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Pyro asked.

Bobby nodded.

"You can't always do what you're told. A friend told me that once."

"They'll look for us. Both of us. You're helping a known fugitive escape. There's no turning back from this."

"They won't find us. Not without Cerebro. And even if they do, we won't let them turn us in."

Pyro smirked.

"No. We won't."

Starting up the Dodge, Bobby then hit the gas and drove at a steady pace out of the garage and away from the school, heading to wherever it was the road took them. It was over an hour before anyone realized what had happened. Ororo went down to the basement to see the bars melted and John gone, as was Bobby. She held the mutant-inhibitor collar in her hands as she turned her head to see Logan approaching her. 

"I can't believe it." She stated. "I never would have expected something like this from Bobby." 

"I checked the garage, the Dodge is gone too." Logan informed her.

"What should we do? Should we report it stolen?"

He shook his head. 

"I'd say just let em' go. We're going to have bigger problems to deal with soon." 

Ororo's brows furrowed. 

"What makes you say that?" 

Logan shrugged a shoulder. 

"Just a hunch."


	27. The Angel of Death

XXXXXXXXX

Sebastian Shaw had finally arrived at the club. He immediately went up to Xavier and shook his hand.

"Professor, I'm sorry I'm late. Last minute meeting."

"It's no problem. I understand you're a busy man."

Shaw then eyed the cameras.

"Well then, let's get to the main event."

He then stepped up onto the stage with microphone in hand and got the attention of everyone in the club.

"Ladies and gentleman, may I have your attention please?"

Everyone turned their attention to Shaw.

"As you all you, The Hellfire Club is a great many things; A gentleman's retreat, a place where business may be conducted, and a home to the finest parties known to civilized man. But it also boasts a proud background of charitable donations and unflinching support for some of the most influential figures in world history. Tonight we are gathered here for two reasons. One, I will reveal to you my pick for Vice President of the United States. A secondly we came here tonight to honor the work done by Professor Charles Xavier. Where in a quaint little school in Westchester, New York, he has been helping mutants for the majority of his adult life."

Everyone began clapping as Shaw motioned for Xavier to join him on stage.

"Professor, if you would, give us a few words."

Xavier nodded as Shaw handed him the microphone. Shaw stepped aside as the other mutant walked to the center and began speaking.

"For years, mutants have been regarded with fear, suspicion, even hatred. Both sides were being driven into a conflict which I feared may one day come to pass as all out war. But I believed that war could be avoided through education and cooperation. This is the principal which I founded Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."

Xavier then gazed into one of the cameras. It was late, so most of the school had probably turned in and weren't watching.

"It was a safe haven for those who are different. They were taught to control their abilities and be responsible with them. Our journey has a been a long and difficult one. There were some moments, during some of our darkest times that made me question if it was all worth it. But now, after seeing President McKenna form a mutant's division during his administration, and the late Henry McCoy, one of my first students, becoming a member of his cabinet..."

He then glanced over at Sebastian.

"To now seeing a mutant one step away from becoming President of the United States. It makes it all seem worth it."

Shaw smiled as he took back the microphone.

"Couldn't have said it better. Now for the other reason, take it away Donald."

Donald Pierce stepped up to the stage as the people began clapping. Pierce smiled as he then stripped off his one glove to reveal a robotic hand. Xavier's brows furrowed with surprise for a moment before Pierce suddenly spun around and grabbed Xavier's head. Xavier cried out as he immediately fell to his knees. Pierce began squeezing at the Professor's temples with the robot hand as Shaw smirked.

"Don't worry about the cameras, Professor. Their empty. None of this is being broadcast anywhere. Nobody even knows you're here."

Once Xavier passed out, Shaw then yelled out to his son;

"Shinobi!"

Shinobi passed through the crowd who looked on as if what had just occurred was no big deal.

"Okay, I want him restrained and taken down to the temple. Don't put him in the pentagram, of course. The pentagram is just for the Inner Circle."

Down below the Hellfire Club was a temple. In the center of it was a large pentagram with odd looking symbols that went all around it. A small flame also wrapped around the circle but in the middle of the circle was the shape of giant phoenix. Xavier groaned as he opened his eyes and found himself strapped to some kind of chair.

He looked around and saw ten people standing inside of the circle, each dressed in some kind of old Victorian style clothes.

"Ah, the Kraken awakes. I thought you were never going to join us, Charles. Don't even think about trying to use your powers." Sebastian pushed his hair back to show a chip that had been implanted in him as had all the members of the Inner Circle. "That's why you didn't suspect a thing."

"Allow us to introduce ourselves," Shinobi spoke. "Shinobi Shaw, The White King."

They each went around the circle. A heavy set man with a full light brown beard and wearing a blue vest;

"Henry Leland. The Black Bishop."

"Donald Pierce, The White Bishop."

Xavier's eyes moved to the next man, dressed in all brown Victorian style garb.

"Emmanuel Da Costa, The White Rook."

The first woman, dressed in nothing but dark bluish-black lingerie, long boots, and a cape.

"Madelyne Pryor," She smirked. "The Black Rook."

"Trevor Fitzroy," the man's hair was dyed an odd light green color. "The White Knight."

"Fedrick Van Roehem," another heavy set man, only with dark hair and mustache. "The Black Knight."

"Selene Shaw," the woman was wearing jet-black lingerie as she moved closer to Shinobi. "The Black Queen."

Xavier's eyes then went to the last person. Sebastian was smirking at him.

"And I, The Black King. That's all of us, Charles. All except for our White Queen. She is currently at your precious school." Xavier narrowed his eyes as the other man continued. "And by this time, your darling Jean Grey probably isn't feeling quite like herself. I won't permit you to interfere with her destiny."

"What are you talking about, Shaw? What destiny?"

"We are going to replace your god with our own, Charles. After twenty-billion years in this many-angled prison, the time has come for the Phoenix God to rise again and usher in a darkness stretching into eternity."

At this, Xavier couldn't help but start to laugh. Shaw glared at him.

"What? What's so funny?"

"You, Shaw. All of this, all this ridiculous nonsense. Jean Grey is no god. She is merely a young mutant woman who is trying to control her newfound gifts. Your delusions are absolutely outstanding."

"You believe whatever makes you comfortable, Professor. I'm happy to adhere to the prophecies of a thousand generations who have worshipped this age-old force and drawn their earthly power from it. Our faith stretches back through the founding fathers and the revolutionary France to the bloodlines of ancient Egypt. Ours are the principles America was built upon, the sacred geometry and architecture at the heart of this great nation. That isn't an eagle weaved into the fabric of the oval office floor you know, what you pay homage to when you address a President is fine, full feathered Phoenix."

"Rubbish."

"Like I said, it doesn't really matter what you think, Charles. We only used you to help Jean accept what's coming without degenerating into a useless, gibbering mess."

"And just how do you plan on doing that?"

Just then the sound of a large door being opened and the closing shut echoed throughout the room. Footsteps were heard coming down the steps as 

Sebastian smirked.

"I almost forget, we do have another member of our Inner Circle here with us tonight. May I present to you, The Grey King of the Hellfire Club."

A man stepped out from the shadows an into the circle. He was wearing an all grey robe and hood. Xavier watched as he slowly took the hood down. Standing before him, wearing his brand new silver and black helmet-

"Erik," Xavier breathed.

Magneto smirked.

"You were right, Charles. This one is special."

Xavier just continued to stare at the other man.

"How nice to see you, old friend," Magneto continued. "And walking again. Quite a sight to see."

"What's going on here, Erik?" Xavier asked. "What do you want with Jean?"

Before he could answer, the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club began to chant;

"By the fire within my heart, I call forth O' sacred flame! Within, without, you both are one from first creations light you come! Ancient sister of stars, daughter of the moon and sun, come forth in mystic golden light! I greet the south whence you come!"

The flames that surrounded the pentagram they stood inside began to rise higher.

"From the core of Earth's bright center, through the cosmos's vast expanses, we call forth, O cleansing fire, I call ye forth to lift and raise us!"

The fire's tendrils rose higher.

"Arise bright fire into the world! Arise bright fire into the night! Arise bright fire by spirit's hand! Arise bright fire of the Phoenix light!"

The fire twisted and formed into the shape of a Phoenix.

"My god," Xavier breathed as he looked on. Magneto too looked slightly in awe before using his powers to levitate the chair Xavier was tied to into a separate room in the temple. Once he was settled, Magneto spoke;

"I'm sorry about Henry. He was a good man."

Xavier didn't respond as his eyes lowered to the ground. Hank McCoy's death was still a touchy subject for him.

"I watched his funeral, from afar," Magneto revealed. "Imagine my surprise when I saw Jean Grey there, after being told that she died saving you all at Alkali Lake. She has become something that you and I have never seen before Charles."

"Yes. And it's because of you that it happened."

Magneto cocked his head.

"What does that mean?"

"Your machine, from Liberty Island," Xavier clarified. "It caused the advancement in her abilities."

"You can't prove that."

"Perhaps it's only a coincidence that her mutation became so much stronger after being hit by the machines radiation."

"Have your forgotten the psychic barriers you placed in her mind, Charles? I imagine you never did tell Jean about what you did." Magneto snapped. "Sometimes barriers break and nature finds its way out. So maybe you are the one who is responsible."

"I did what I thought was best for Jean." Xavier responded as he narrowed his eyes. "She was far too young to able to handle that kind of power. You know that."

"You never did give her enough credit. She was far more capable than you assumed."

"She meant more to me than her potential."

"And you think I didn't want what was best for her?" Magneto asked. "How can you know that allowing her powers full manifestation wasn't it?"

Xavier took a deep breath.

"It's easy for you to believe so strongly that you were right, Erik. You're not the one who had to make the decision." The two of them were silent for a few moments before Xavier spoke up again. "I don't know what you've been up to, but maybe you haven't seen that things are better. The world is better."

"Just because there isn't a war doesn't mean there is peace."

"Nothing with ever satisfy you, Erik." Xavier said as he shook his head.

"You must be following the current Presidential race." Magneto responded. "What do you think Graydon Creed will do if he's elected?"

"We will deal with it. We've come too far to turn back now. Now is the time to keep pushing forward."

"The fact that he has so much support is proof that things are not better, Charles. Every accomplishment Henry worked so hard to achieve will be done away with if Creed wins."

"So, you intend to use Jean as a weapon to fight your war?"

"No. I intend for Jean to fight with us. To be what she is...the next stage of evolution."

"Brother Erik."

Magneto turned his head to see Pierce standing by the doorway.

"You are needed by Brother Sebastian."

Nodding, Magneto looked at Xavier one last time before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry Charles. But your way doesn't work. This is what needs to be done."

XXXXXXXXX

The following morning, Jean was sitting on the edge of the bed rubbing her forehead when Kitty suddenly appeared in her doorway.

"Jean?"

Jean's eyes flashed orange for a split second before she turned her head to the young girl.

"Are you okay?" Kitty then asked as she walked further into the room.

"I don't know," Jean responded, honestly. "I just feel...off. Emotionally, I mean. I feel all over the place."

Kitty patted her arm, sympathetically.

"That time of the month, hun?"

Jean gave her a look.

"No. It's not that."

"Anyway," Kitty then changed the subject to what she really came to Jean for. "I just finished talking to Mr. Worthington. Warren is home now. If we hurry we can catch him." Kitty said

Jean took a breath as she got to her feet.

"Okay, let's go."

"I'll drive."

Kitty turned to head out but Jean took a hold of her wrist.

"Kitty, we aren't going to need a car."

Before Kitty could respond, a glowing light then wrapped around them both and in a flash they disappeared, teleporting to their desired location. Inside of his father's penthouse, Warren Worthington III had a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand as he sat on the edge of the bed. Warren looked bad as his hair was messy and his eyes looked blood-shot. He took a drink from the bottle when he suddenly looked over to see Kitty standing at the entrance of his open door. The lack of reaction he had scared the young girl.

"Kitty?" He slurred. "How did you get in here?"

"Really?"

Warren smirked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot."

Kitty walked further into the bedroom. She then glanced at the bottom of alcohol in his hand.

"A little early to start drinking, don't you think?"

"It's not like I have anything better to do. What are you doing here?"

"Your father and I have been talking. He's really worried about you."

Warren scoffed.

"Yeah, he's worried about me, he cares about me. First he wanted to cure me and now he's selling the company."

"What?"

"Yeah, he's letting Trask Enterprises buy us out."

"Warren, I want to bring you back to the mansion."

"I can't go back, I'm no longer a mutant." He then let the bottle drop to the floor as he stood up and removed his shirt. He turned around so Kitty could see the scars on his back, the marks where his wings once had been. "My wings made me special. Now who am I? I'm just some normal nobody."

"I can help you. Well, I brought someone who can help you."

As Kitty continued talking with Warren, Jean was waiting out in the living room. She turned her attention to the flat-screen television mounted on the wall and used her power to turn it on. She flipped through the channels until coming to an interview a reporter was having with Graydon Creed.

"President McKenna is a good man." Graydon stated. "However, as far as the issue of mutants goes, this is a subject where he and I differ. The mutant problem is not something that should be brushed off, it should be taken care of in order to protect our society."

"Secretary Creed, do you consider yourself a racist?" The reporter asked.

"No. I'm an envisionist. I envision a future without this mutant problem."

"Some have said that President McKenna's actions may have prevented a civil war. Along with the help of Henry McCoy-"

"Henry McCoy was a fraud, he helped cover up the actions of dangerous mutants out there. The day he died was a great day for this country."

Jean's eyes suddenly flared with anger as she caused the television to explode and burst into flames. Warren and Kitty stopped talking when they heard the noise as Warren's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What was that?"

Warren and Kitty walked into the living room to see Jean pulling back the small fire and extinguishing it.

"What did you do to my television?" He demanded.

"Sorry."

Jean focused her power on the flat-screen and in a few moments it repaired itself. Warren blinked as he watched in amazement.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Jean Grey. Kitty told me that you were once part of the X-Men."

"Yeah...I was. Until I lost my wings."

"I'm pretty sure I can help you."

"No you can't."

"She can, Warren. She healed the Professor's spine, he can walk now. And that's not the only one thing she's done." Kitty told him. "You wouldn't believe how many people she's helped."

"What can you do for me?" Warren asked Jean.

"I can regenerate the cells and restore your wings. But I have to warn you, the pain will be terrible."

"I can bear it. Anything…anything to fly again."

Jean nodded as she walked closer towards him.

"Turn around."

Warren did so and Jean placed a hand on his back. She began to focus her power on the young mutant. But as she concentrated, voices began to echo through her head. The first one was what she had just heard of Graydon Creed;

"Henry McCoy was a fraud."

Emma Frost's voice then spoke;

"If you're afraid that I'll steal him away then you better keep a hold of him, darling."

Anger then began to build in Jean as her hands and eyes began to glow with telekinetic energy. Warren then screamed as he fell to his knees, bones protruding from his back. Kitty cried out as she covered her eyes, turning away from the scene.

"...Unless you are willing to force mutation to the next stage." The voice of Sinister shouted in her mind. Jean tried to tune out the voices, but she couldn't. Wings then began to re-grow on Warren's back, but not feathered wings. They were long, sharp, metallic wings.

"The more power you have, the more good you can do." Xavier spoke. "And the more bad you can do as well, if you're not careful."

Jean then saw a flash of her childhood best friend, Annie Richardson being run over by a drunk driver. She then began to speak to Warren, in his mind. Warren continued to scream.

"Focus on the power. No one expects an angel to set the world on fire."

Warren's skin then began to turn into a turquoise color. The process was now over as Warren rose to his feet, extending his metal wings. He then fired razor-sharp feather projections into either side of the walls as he smiled at Jean. Feeling it was safe for her to look now, Kitty spun around. Her eyes widened in shock as she gaped at Warren's appearance.

"Oh my god! Warren!"

Jean again spoke to Warren via telepathy;

"Fight for me. My angel of death."

Warren grinned evilly.

"Thank you."

His voice was deeper, almost demonic as Warren then turned and flu with a great speed into the windows on the east side of the penthouse and crashed straight through them. The Angel of Death took off into the sky, flying faster than he had ever been before. Kitty ran over to Jean and to her shock she saw that Jean's eyes were lifeless and black as charcoal. Not the bright orange she was accustom to.

"Jean, what happened?"

She reached out and shook the older woman's shoulder. That seemed to shock Jean back to reality as her eyes went back to normal. She looked down at her hands which by now had stopped glowing.

"Oh god. What did I do? I...I didn't mean to..."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Down in the mansion subcomplex, Havok had just changed into his uniform and was getting ready for a solo session in the Danger Room. There was just one little problem, several damn kids wouldn't stop bothering him as Sam, Tabitha, Siryn followed him down the hall.

"Please, Mr. Summers."

"Don't call me Mr. Summers," Havok snapped. "That is reserved for Scott."

"Come on, it can just be a practice session." Sam begged.

"How old are you guys?"

"Sixteen."

"Forget it. Why do you want to be on the team anyway?"

"My dad was in the X-Men." Siryn informed him. "I want to help people like he did."

Havok didn't respond as he sighed and went to turn the corner when he suddenly Havok ran into Jamie, and about six more copies of Jamie.

"What are you, the Copy Man?" He asked.

"I'm Multiple Man." Each version of Jamie said that at different times.

"Well, leave me alone or you'll be in multiple pieces."

Havok pushed past the copies to the control room as the copies of Jamie came together as one.

"Jeez, you're no fun either. You really are Cyclops' brother."

Havok narrowed his eyes.

"Fine, you all can train with me."

The four of them hollered with celebration as Sam and Jamie high-fived. In the control room, Havok set the controls, but instead for a practice session, he set the difficulty for level three. He smirked a little before whispering under his breath;

"Be careful what you ask for."

Cannonball, Siryn, Boomer, and Multiple Man headed in when the doors opened. They glanced around the dome, taking it in when he doors then closed behind them.

"Hey, I thought you were going to do it with us." Cannonball yelled out.

Havok pressed the button that allowed him to watch went on as he spoke into the microphone.

"I changed my mind. This will be just for you guys."

The group of four looked at each other, a little worried now as the room began to transform into a twenty by twenty rocky area with sloping sides and a lake at the bottom. It was now a Mountain Battlefield, as large mountains surrounded them as they were just standing just a few feet from a cliff. A robotic voice then echoed throughout the area;

"The objective is to knock your opponents off the sides. You have five minutes to complete the task. If you get knocked off, then you have failed."

"What opponents?" Multiple Man asked as he looked around.

The side of the mountain then exploded as three living rock creatures begun to come at them. They were bulbous and misshapen. One had a head that was pointy, the second one's head was square.

"I'm guessing them." Boomer answered as she pointed at them.

The third rock creature had a hammer for a 'hand'. It swung in Boomer's direction but Cannonball quickly launched forward and grabbed her, taking them both up and out of harms way. Square-Head knocked Siryn to the ground but as it began to come at her again she let loose a ear-piercing screech. The vibration was enough to send the creature stumbling backwards until it fell off the cliff. The noise of Siryn caused Cannonball to become discombobulated and land back on the ground. Boomer formed two yellow orbs, sending them straight at the two remaining opponents. They tumbled backwards from the blast, but unfortunately, Multiple Man, who was just standing there doing nothing was send back to. He kept going until he tumbled off the cliff.

Cannonball shook his head.

"Useless."

While this was going on, Scott made his way though the hallway when he heard the noise coming from the Danger Room. He kept going until he reached the control room and saw his younger brother inside.

"What's going on?"

"Eh, I'm giving a couple of kids a session." Havok answered.

Scott ran over to see who it was.

"Alex! You just can't throw students into the Danger Room!"

Back inside, the session continued as the pointy-head rock creature knocked Boomer towards the edge of the cliff. She grabbed it just before she fell and started pulling herself back up. But by this point, the other creature grabbed Siryn's arms and began pushing her straight towards Boomer. Her hands slipped out and Boomer's ribs impacted with the cliff's sharp edge.

She screamed out in agony as Siryn tumbled off the edge, hitting Boomer on her way down, causing her to fall right after Siryn. They fell and the large river turned into pixels, than disappeared. Scott had hit the emergency stop button and everything in the Danger Room froze. It then shifted back to normal as Scott quickly made his way to them. The others had gathered around Boomer as she moaned in pain and held her sides.

"I think my ribs are broken."

The doors of the room then opened and Scott and Alex came rushing in. Jamie pointed at Sam.

"He made us do it! He talked us into it!"

Sam glared at him.

"You are so dead."

"Tabitha, are you okay?" Scott asked.

"No. But I'll live."

"Jamie, take Tabitha to the infirmary. Sam, Siryn, try to find Jean. I need to talk to Alex."

The kids did as they were told and once they were gone, Scott angrily turned to his younger brother.

"What the hell were you thinking!? They are only just students! They aren't trained for something like this!"

"I know, but they were gonna just keep nagging me."

"You think that's an excuse?"

Alex didn't respond, he just sighed heavily with frustration.

"I'm revoking your Danger Room privileges for a week." Scott then told him.

"You think I care about your permission?" Havok snapped.

"Don't push me, Alex."

"Are you always like this? You're probably the type of driver they invented the finger for." Scott placed his hands on his hips as he just stared at his younger brother. Havok then rolled his eyes. "Dude, lighten up, take a chance once in a while."

"Dad took a chance once. He decided to fly when there was a call for thunderstorms. But it was more important for him to get us to Alaska then risk losing two days of vacation."

Alex looked away. He then muttered under his breath;

"I don't even remember the accident."

"Lucky you."

Scott then walked around Alex and out of the Danger Room as the younger man ran his hand through his hair and sighed heavily. He too then made his way out.


End file.
